In late July the federal government announced an alarming statistic – that life expectancy in America has fallen significantly in the last two years. Between 2018 and 2020, the decrease in average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was roughly 1.9 years. This is 8.5 times the average decrease in 16 comparable countries, which was about 2.5 months. For White Americans that drop in life expectancy was 1.4 years. For Black Americans, 3.25 years, and for Hispanic Americans, 3.9 years. Citizens of those other 16 industrialized nations will now live nearly 5 years longer than citizens of the United States.
Covid-19 has caused the largest decline in U.S. life expectancy since World War II, when fighting caused the death of more than four hundred thousand Americans. But Covid is not the only reason that life expectancy in this country has fallen to its lowest level in almost two decades.
America has become far more unequal than it used to be, and the dropping mortality rates are primarily among those in the working class and those in poverty.
Working-class Americans were more likely to contract severe versions of Covid last year. Many could not work from home. These tended to be in jobs like meat packing plants, warehouses, or retail stores; jobs that have people working close to others and that traditionally pay less. After getting sick from Covid many received lower-quality medical care.
When vaccines first became available, they were limited to risk factors and age and were not offered to people in some of the jobs that had high exposure rates. Now working-class people and those in poverty have higher rates of vaccine skepticism and many are not getting the shots.
There is argument among researchers about the other reasons life expectancy has dropped so much for working-class Americans and those in poverty. Many refer to “deaths of despair.” They argue that Americans have always believed that life would be better for them than it was for their parents. But that has not been true for the last thirty years. High-paying jobs protected by labor unions have disappeared. This has caused a major rise in alcoholism, drug use, overdoses, and suicides for the working class.
Other researchers admit that those statistics are true. However, the numbers don’t recognize the fact that less educated, lower earning Americans have increasing health challenges. These Americans face much higher rates of cardiovascular disease and cancers.
Working-class Americans live incredibly stressful lives. Many work more than one job because their wages are not enough to support their families. Their transportation might not be reliable, and in cities many spend hours a day riding buses. Child care is difficult to arrange. With little time to cook, families rely on fast food, and the high fat content and lack of nutrition leads to obesity. Substandard housing might expose them to environmental issues like lead, mold, or extreme heat or cold.
People in poverty are often people who have disabilities or mental health issues. Many have had to flee from their homes due to abuse. Families may have lost income due to a job loss, death, or divorce. They face the same problems as working-class Americans, but to an even greater degree.
Health officials calculate life expectancy at birth to better understand a country’s health over time. Estimates of life expectancy during the Covid-19 pandemic don’t predict how long a group of people will live but rather illustrate who was most affected. The enormous drop in life expectancy tells us is not how long a baby born in 2020 will live, but instead reflects how high the death rate for the entire population was during 2020.
For several years, possibly decades, there will be financial, physical, and mental health challenges. The significant decrease in life expectancy for Americans, for whatever reason, should be a concern for all of us.