Death rates RISE for young people in 19 states after years of falling due to drug abuse and ‘diseases of despair’ as new figures reveal which states have the highest and lowest life expectancy

  • New figures reveal gap between states with highest and lowest life expectancy
  • In 19 states, decades of declining mortality rates have been reversed, stats show
  • In five of them, mortality rates for young and middle aged has actually increased 
  • The blame for increase has been pinned on substance abuse as well as self harm 

The opioid epidemic, alcohol abuse and other 'diseases of despair' are driving the increase death in rates in 19 states across America - despite premature death rates falling in the nation as a whole.

A new study looking at health in the United States reveals that if you live on a Hawaiian island, your life expectancy is more than 81 years but in Mississippi can count yourself lucky if you make it to 75.

The research shows that in 19 states the previously declining rates in mortality among young and middle-aged adults were reversed between 1990 and 2016, the period studied.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Opioid drugs killed more than 42,000 people in 2016

Opioids, alcohol abuse and suicide are taking their toll on the life expectancy on many young and middle aged adult Americans 

In that group, in New Mexico, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Kentucky and West Virginia, the probability of death for that age group not only stopped decreasing, it actually increased by 10 percent over the study period.

Opioid overdoses, alcohol abuse and suicide are the three factors driving the phenomenon, particularly among middle-age, white Americans and those living in rural communities, researchers say.

The study was published in Journal of the American Medical Association and was conducted by researchers led by Dr Christopher Murray at the University of Washington in Seattle.

It looked at published literature for 333 causes and 84 risk factors linked to mortality from 1990 through 2016.

This table, from the new Journal of the American Medical Association study, shows the extent to which various factors impact on the nation's health

This table, from the new Journal of the American Medical Association study, shows the extent to which various factors impact on the nation's health

'In terms of health outcomes, the United States is not united,' said Dr. Howard Koh, who co-authored an editorial that accompanied the new study.

He said that a substantial driver in the increasing death rate in some states were 'diseases of despair,' which include substance-use disorders cirrhosis of the liver and self-harm.

Heart disease and lung cancer were the number one and two killers of Americans in 2016, just as they were in 1990.

That comes despite reduced smoking rates and more widespread use of treatments to reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure have led to a 33 per cent decline in deaths due to cardiovascular disease for people of all ages.

Opioid use played a large role in some of the negative outcomes.

HOW AMERICA GOT HOOKED ON OPIOID DRUGS

Prescription opioids and illicit drugs have become incredibly pervasive throughout the US, and things are only getting worse.  

In the early 2000s, the FDA and CDC started to notice a steady increase in cases of opioid addiction and overdose. In 2013, they issued guidelines to curb addiction. 

However, that same year - now regarded as the year the epidemic took hold - a CDC report revealed an unprecedented surge in rates of opioid addiction.

Overdose deaths are now the leading cause of death among young Americans - killing more in a year than were ever killed annually by HIV, gun violence or car crashes.

Preliminary CDC data published by the New York Times shows US drug overdose deaths surged 19 percent to at least 59,000 in 2016.

That is up from 52,404 in 2015, and double the death rate a decade ago.

It means that for the first time drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years old. 

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In 1990, opioid use disorder was 52 on the list of things that caused lost years of life but in 2016, rose to 15th on that list.

When it comes to 'Disability-adjusted life-years' - a summary measurement of a population's health – drug and alcohol use now ranks fourth in the risk to health, behind smoking, being overweight and having a poor diet.

The data paints a picture of differing life expectancy across the nation.

The 10 states with the lowest probability of premature death were California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Washington.

The 10 with the highest probability of premature death include Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

If each state were a country, the authors of the report authors noted, Hawaii would be tied with Ireland, ranking 20th worldwide. Mississippi, meanwhile, would tie with Kuwait, ranking 76th in the world.

California's life expectancy at birth was also among the highest in the nation, coming in second at 80.9 years.

Other states with a life expectancy above 80 were Connecticut, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, New Jersey and Washington.

Another recent report, from the World Bank, revealed that life expectancy in the US has fallen for the second year in a row.

The average American had a life expectancy of 78 years and 7.2 months in 2016, down 0.1 years from 2015 - and nearly two years lower than other developed nations.

 

 

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