“In 2016, the average American’s life expectancy dropped to 78.6 years, the second time in two years the U.S has seen a dip in how long people are expected to live.
Drug overdose deaths, propelled by the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis, were the most influential factor behind the decline in American life expectancy, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the mortality statistics branch of the National Center for Health Statistics for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which produced the new data released Thursday. These fatal drug overdoses have also killed younger Americans more than any other age group.”
Read more at: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/the-opioid-crisis-is-driving-down-u-s-life-expectancy-new-data-shows
Source: PBS.org – December 21, 2017
See related article: Opioid Abuse Epidemic is Top Health Story of 2017 – 12/28/17 available at: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/12/28/Opioid-abuse-epidemic-is-top-health-story-of-2017/9961514486165/
See related article: The opioid epidemic has now reached black America – 12/22/17 available at: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/12/22/16808490/opioid-epidemic-black-white
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See related article: Five Addiction Experts Weigh in On Future of Opioid Crisis. Their Forecast: Grim – 12/31/17 available at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-addiction-experts-future-opioid-crisis.html