Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Why is life expectancy falling in America?
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Why is life expectancy falling in America?
The life expectancy of Americans has fallen in recent years after a long period when it had been increasing. There are a number of factors which contribute to the fall. The Covid pandemic, with over 1m deaths, made a significant impact on lowering the average life expectancy. In comparison with other peer countries, the USA also did not return to pre-Covid levels at the same rate. However there are also other important factors driving this, namely gun deaths and drug deaths as a result of opioid overdoses. And another major contributor to lower life expectancy in the States is inequality in the US healthcare system.
In this edition of The Inquiry Tanya Beckett explores why US life expectancy is falling.
She hears from Jeremy Ney an adjunct professor at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco and author of American Inequality, a data project that highlights US inequality and regional divides.
Dr. Mark Rosenberg helped set up the Centre for Disease Control’s National Centre for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) and is a key proponent of research that examines how to reduce gun violence. He explains how gun deaths among young people have a big influence on the average life expectancy numbers.
Dr. Judith Feinberg, is a professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine - her experience of working with communities with high levels of opioid problems makes her an authority on the extent to which drug overdose deaths impact average life expectancy.
Ellen Marra is a professor of health economics at Harvard University - she says that diseases such as cancer and cardio deaths are big factors in lower life expectancy, compared with the number of gun and opioid deaths.
CREDITS
Presenter Tanya Beckett
Producer Phil Reevell.
Researcher Bisi Adebayo
Editor Tom Bigwood
Image: USA Birthday Cake, Credit: Getty Images
View all episodes
By BBC World Service
4.6
695695 ratings
The life expectancy of Americans has fallen in recent years after a long period when it had been increasing. There are a number of factors which contribute to the fall. The Covid pandemic, with over 1m deaths, made a significant impact on lowering the average life expectancy. In comparison with other peer countries, the USA also did not return to pre-Covid levels at the same rate. However there are also other important factors driving this, namely gun deaths and drug deaths as a result of opioid overdoses. And another major contributor to lower life expectancy in the States is inequality in the US healthcare system.
In this edition of The Inquiry Tanya Beckett explores why US life expectancy is falling.
She hears from Jeremy Ney an adjunct professor at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco and author of American Inequality, a data project that highlights US inequality and regional divides.
Dr. Mark Rosenberg helped set up the Centre for Disease Control’s National Centre for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) and is a key proponent of research that examines how to reduce gun violence. He explains how gun deaths among young people have a big influence on the average life expectancy numbers.
Dr. Judith Feinberg, is a professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine - her experience of working with communities with high levels of opioid problems makes her an authority on the extent to which drug overdose deaths impact average life expectancy.
Ellen Marra is a professor of health economics at Harvard University - she says that diseases such as cancer and cardio deaths are big factors in lower life expectancy, compared with the number of gun and opioid deaths.
CREDITS
Presenter Tanya Beckett
Producer Phil Reevell.
Researcher Bisi Adebayo
Editor Tom Bigwood
Image: USA Birthday Cake, Credit: Getty Images
More shows like The Inquiry
View all
Global News Podcast
7,685 Listeners
From Our Own Correspondent
366 Listeners
Business Daily
521 Listeners
More or Less: Behind the Stats
897 Listeners
Newshour
1,044 Listeners
World Business Report
291 Listeners
In Our Time
5,433 Listeners
The Documentary Podcast
1,791 Listeners
Witness History
951 Listeners
The Interview
367 Listeners
Discovery
962 Listeners
BBC Inside Science
418 Listeners
Science Weekly
417 Listeners
The Life Scientific
243 Listeners
The Audio Long Read
843 Listeners
Unexpected Elements
355 Listeners
The Briefing Room
69 Listeners
CrowdScience
483 Listeners
People Fixing the World
241 Listeners
Evil Genius with Russell Kane
351 Listeners
Have You Heard George's Podcast?
229 Listeners
Today in Focus
996 Listeners
Elis James and John Robins
324 Listeners
You're Dead to Me
3,185 Listeners
Sport's Strangest Crimes
65 Listeners
Uncanny
781 Listeners
Dua Lipa: At Your Service
998 Listeners
Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley
495 Listeners
Believe in Magic
615 Listeners
The Global Story
254 Listeners
Miss Me?
259 Listeners
The Explanation
24 Listeners
The History Podcast
34 Listeners
Rory Stewart: The Long History of...
87 Listeners
Havana Helmet Club
6 Listeners