Life expectancy in the United States fell sharply during the pandemic, but is expected to recover to 2019 levels this year in 26 states, but not as quickly as compared to similar countries, new study finds It became.
A new study from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation shows that even though technology is making major advances against diseases like cancer and heart disease, bad habits like junk food, smoking, and illicit drug use are affecting people’s longevity. It is said that it is a hindrance to
By 2050, the average life expectancy in the United States for babies born in that year is projected to increase from 79.1 years to 80.4 years, a slight improvement that would put it below the United States. after almost every other high-income countryaccording to research.
In some states, progress is slowed by poverty and inadequate health insurance. Wealthier, more urban, and better-educated states are better off and more likely to adopt lifesaving policies, from restricting access to guns to providing income support to young mothers. Nine of the 10 states with the longest life expectancy for babies born this year (all except North Dakota) have Democratic majorities, and all 10 states have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. There is. All 10 states with the lowest life expectancies are controlled by Republicans (though Kentucky has a Democratic governor), and five of the 10 states have not expanded Medicaid.
A Stateline analysis of the study’s data shows how some states have risen and some states have fallen when it comes to life expectancy.
For example, in 1990, New York and West Virginia were tied for 39th and 41st place in state life expectancy rankings. However, the two have since taken very different paths, with New York rising to third place in 2024 and projected to surpass Hawaii and Massachusetts to become the longest-living state of all states by 2050. .
West Virginia is projected to outperform only Mississippi in 2024 and rank last among states in 2050.
Brett Harris said New York City has benefited from good medical services at New York City hospitals, as well as strict gun laws that have curbed suicides, supervised use locations and other controversial issues. He said the program has benefited from state policies such as harm reduction policies that reduce overdose deaths. He is president of the New York State Public Health Association and an associate professor in the School of Health Policy at the University at Albany.
Harris said he wouldn’t be surprised if New York would fall from 33rd to 41st place by 2050 when ranked as a nation, despite rising life expectancy among states. According to the analysis.
“Part of the reason is how individualistic we are in this country, this idea of always trying to move forward, whereas in other countries it’s more of a community-based environment. I think so,” Harris said. “Their social policies tend to have better health outcomes. If you live in a family environment rather than an individualistic one, you get more support.”
West Virginia’s small population and rural poverty make access to health care difficult. Brian Huggins, health officer for Monongalia County, West Virginia, said it’s difficult to overcome community and political skepticism about health measures. Huggins has joined other county health officials in advocating for stricter smoke-free laws and maintaining vaccination requirements in schools despite opposition.
“It hurts to see West Virginia ranked last. We are a proud state,” Huggins said, adding that a lack of economic opportunity drives young, healthy residents out of the country. He added that life expectancy has also been hampered. Many concerns include a lack of sidewalks and a non-vegetable diet that makes healthy walking more dangerous. Both promote obesity.
Huggins has also seen the situation overseas. While the U.S. Army was stationed in Germany, he noticed generous health benefits for Germans, including two-week retreats with massages and saunas for people who were stressed or burnt out from work.
“Their goal in Germany is they want you to get back to work. Prevention and maintaining a healthy workforce are their priorities to contribute to the economy,” Huggins said. “On the other hand, they’ve built a tax system to support this. You pay an 18% tax on everything you buy there, which I don’t think Americans would necessarily accept.”German value-added tax is currently 19%; Applies to most products and services.
Due to the impact of the new coronavirus pandemic, average life expectancy has declined for two consecutive years, including a decrease of more than 1.8 years nationwide from 79.1 years to 77.3 years between 2019 and 2020. It will be done. According to projections, reconstruction is not expected to be complete until this year and will proceed slowly until 2050, when the average life expectancy of the country’s citizens will be approximately 80.4 years.
States that recovered fastest from the pandemic include North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, which increased life expectancy by about a year between 2019 and 2024. Twenty-four states have yet to regain their 2019 life expectancy.
Life expectancy in the District of Columbia, which is not a state, was lower than all 50 states in 1990, but this year it ranked 23rd. said study author Ali Mokdad, chief strategy officer for population health at Columbia University. Washington said D.C.’s improvements are due, at least in part, to an influx of wealthier and more educated people since 1990.
Most of the states in the top 10 in 1990 dropped out: Colorado (7th to 11th), Iowa (4th to 17th), Kansas (8th to 36th), and Nebraska (9th). (from 2nd to 19th), South Dakota (from 10th to 21st), and Utah (from 2nd to 12th).
New additions to the top 10 in 2024 compared to 1990 include Massachusetts (up from 13th to 2nd), New York (as mentioned above, from 39th to 3rd), and California (up from 24th to 4th). ), and New Jersey (3rd to 3rd place). 26th to 6th), Rhode Island (19th to 8th), and Washington State (14th to 10th).
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Mokdad said the concentration of people in urban areas is important for longevity because they receive the highest quality care.
“The hospital is very close. [in Seattle] And I have health insurance. But is that true for everyone in Washington state? It’s not the same for someone with my income and education level, who may live two or three hours from Seattle,” Mokdad said. said.
Mokdad said quality care and insurance are also important to ensure problems such as obesity and high blood pressure are detected and managed.
“Obesity has increased significantly in many regions, especially southern states, and while smoking has decreased in wealthy regions, it remains in other regions. This explains much of this. [state differences] This is what we call a preventable risk factor,” Mokdad said.
“Even though life expectancy is increasing, many people are still being left behind,” Mokdad said.
Even in urban areas, racial minority groups and women may be in poor conditions that can shorten both their lives and the lives of their children. 1 report This month, the same Lancet issue focused on a program in Black Flint, Michigan, where doctors prescribe money to women from late pregnancy through the first year of life.
The family can’t go to the doctor because they don’t have transportation. They have a hard time eating healthy food because it’s too expensive.
– Dr. Mona Hanna, pediatrician in Flint, Michigan
The program, launched this year, would be the first in the nation to emulate some of the other 140 countries that offer cash subsidies for children’s health care, according to the article. The success of a similar temporary child tax credit early in the pandemic prompted other states to adopt or expand their own tax credits for young mothers.
“We’re learning more and more that what happens in early childhood can impact life expectancy,” says Dr. Mona Hanna, a Flint pediatrician who founded a program called Rx Kids. It relies on state aid in the form of authorization to use federal funds and private donations.
Including Michigan State budget is $20 million Next year, the program will expand to other cities as well as rural, majority-white counties in the state’s Upper Peninsula. The program grants pregnant women $1,500 and $500 a month for the first year of their baby’s life.
“This is a concrete solution to overcome disparities and inequities across places,” Hanna said. “The stress of being born into poverty can lead to things like prematurity and low birth weight. Mothers are more likely to be stressed and may also smoke. We see it every day in our families. They can’t go to the doctor because they don’t have transportation. They have a hard time eating healthy food because it’s too expensive.”
Darren Liu, a health policy professor at West Virginia University’s School of Public Health, believes rural West Virginia could benefit from similar programs to address the state’s problems with poverty, an aging population, and dependence on declining industries such as coal. He said there is a possibility of receiving it.
To increase access to care for rural residents, states should expand telehealth, deploy more mobile clinics and offer student loan forgiveness to rural health care workers, Liu said in an email. told Stateline.
Huggins, West Virginia’s county health officer, said money is still an issue. new federal guidelines This law requires many free medical examinations for insured persons. Low-income patients often get tested but cannot afford to treat disabling conditions, such as knee pain or back pain caused by manual labor.
“I think that’s another reason why West Virginia ranks lower because of the barriers that insurance companies have put in place because they have to make a profit,” Huggins said. “That’s a barrier that we have to try to solve. Right now, most insurance policies have deductibles that are well over $1,000.”
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