Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

'Deaths Of Despair' Drag Life Expectancy Lower For Whites

The Canadian Press, 03 Jun, 2016 11:53 AM
  • 'Deaths Of Despair' Drag Life Expectancy Lower For Whites
NEW YORK — Rising drug and alcohol overdoses, suicides, and disease from chronic alcoholism — labeled "deaths of despair" by one expert — are cutting the lives of white Americans short by nearly a half a year on average.
 
Increases in these types of deaths among whites means that life expectancy for whites is not increasing as fast as it is for other groups, according to a government report that offers an unusual look at how different threats are affecting U.S. lifespans.
 
"Things are moving in the wrong direction," said Anne Case, a Princeton University researcher, of what she calls "deaths of despair."
 
Drawing from death certificate data, the new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focuses on what happened to white life expectancy between 2000 and 2014.
 
The work was a reaction to recent research that suggested drug overdoses and suicides have caused alarming increases in death rates for middle-aged white Americans. The new report, which did not perform the same analysis for blacks and Hispanics, was posted online Friday.
 
Overall, white life expectancy still grew because other things were improving. Deaths from heart disease — the nation's No. 1 killer — dropped significantly, and that alone added a year to white life expectancy. Nearly one more year was added because of falling death rates from cancer, stroke, and motor vehicle crashes, the researchers found.
 
 
 
But then drugs and alcohol subtracted about 4 months from life expectancy, according to Kenneth Kochanek, a CDC statistician who was the report's lead author. No other cause of death had a bigger negative impact, he said.
 
Increasing suicides had the second largest negative impact, subtracting roughly 6 weeks from white life expectancy. The growing impact of Alzheimer's disease was third, reducing longevity by about 3 weeks.
 
Falls also whittled down white life expectancy gains, the researchers found. So did chronic liver disease, often the result of heavy alcohol consumption or injection drug use that spreads the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus.
 
Experts cite several possible reasons that drug overdose deaths and suicides are occurring far more often among middle-aged whites than other groups. They say whites have had an easier time getting access to the powerful painkillers that have been the root of the current drug overdose epidemic. And whites may more quickly turn to suicide because often they don't have the kind of family and social support often seen in black and Hispanic communities, they say.
 
Though the gap is closing, white life expectancy is still significantly greater than life expectancy for blacks.
 
White life expectancy grew to nearly 79 in 2014, from about 77 1/2 years in 2000. Black life expectancy rose to a little over 75 from about 71 1/2. Life expectancy for Hispanics rose to 82 years from 79.
 
Things may be taking a turn for the worse, however. Earlier this week, CDC issued a report on preliminary death data for 2015 that showed the U.S. death rate rose slightly — the first increase in a decade. The report did not break down what was happening in different racial groups, but experts say whites death trends are likely the primary reason.
 
"This all just points to the fact that we have a very serious problem that we don't fully understand," Case said.

MORE National ARTICLES

Crow Attacks Tracked With New Online Map, Hundreds Documented So Far

Crow Attacks Tracked With New Online Map, Hundreds Documented So Far
VANCOUVER — People with ornithophobia have a new tool to fight their fear of birds — a map that tracks crow attacks.

Crow Attacks Tracked With New Online Map, Hundreds Documented So Far

Teen Suspects Charged In Assaults At Manitoba Addiction Treatment Centre

Teen Suspects Charged In Assaults At Manitoba Addiction Treatment Centre
SELKIRK, Man. — Two teens arrested after two workers at a Manitoba addictions treatment centre were viciously attacked have been charged with  aggravated assault.

Teen Suspects Charged In Assaults At Manitoba Addiction Treatment Centre

Lack Of Any Nova Scotia Probe Of Nursing Home Pushing Death Shocks Daughter

Lack Of Any Nova Scotia Probe Of Nursing Home Pushing Death Shocks Daughter
 After 87-year-old Dorothy Stultz died following a shove from another resident in her nursing home, her daughter says she expected the Nova Scotia Health Department would try to learn from the tragedy.

Lack Of Any Nova Scotia Probe Of Nursing Home Pushing Death Shocks Daughter

New Phone Scam Claims To Need Financial Info On Behalf Of Premier Brad Wall

New Phone Scam Claims To Need Financial Info On Behalf Of Premier Brad Wall
REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall's office says no one there is calling people looking for financial information.

New Phone Scam Claims To Need Financial Info On Behalf Of Premier Brad Wall

Tim Bosma's Accused Killers Both Guilty Because They Planned The Crime: Crown

Tim Bosma's Accused Killers Both Guilty Because They Planned The Crime: Crown
HAMILTON — The prosecution in the Tim Bosma murder trial says the jury doesn't have to decide who pulled the trigger because both of the accused planned to kill the Hamilton man and cover up the crime.

Tim Bosma's Accused Killers Both Guilty Because They Planned The Crime: Crown

Guilty Pleas In Cases Of Misuse Of Patient Records From Toronto Hospitals

Guilty Pleas In Cases Of Misuse Of Patient Records From Toronto Hospitals
Nellie Acar pleaded guilty to one count of secret commissions and one count of using a forged document, while Esther Cruz pleaded guilty to two counts of secret commissions.

Guilty Pleas In Cases Of Misuse Of Patient Records From Toronto Hospitals