In their recent paper, “Missing Americans: Early Death in the United States, 1933-2021“, Jacob Bor et al. assessed how many U.S. deaths would have been averted each year, 1933-2021, if U.S. age-specific mortality rates had equaled those of other wealthy nations. Bor describes their data, and how, starting in 1980, the U.S. has diverged from the average of other comparable wealthy nations. Especially noted are the higher rates of death among individuals younger than 65 years of age in all racial categories — indicating links to structural racism, economic inequality, and underinvestment in public health and social safety net programs in the U.S. since 1980.

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