US life expectancy drops for second consecutive year. Kentucky ranks at the bottom
The U.S. life expectancy is now the lowest it’s been since 1996, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. The national life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years in 2020 and 0.9 years in 2021, bringing it to 76.1 years.
Federal authorities laid out the data in a report titled “Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates for 2021,” which said COVID-19 contributed to 50% of the decline from 2020 to 2021, while unintentional injuries made up 15.9%. The remaining factors included heart disease at 4.1%, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis at 3% and suicide at 2.1%.
The decline was offset by decreases in mortality due to influenza and pneumonia, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer disease, perinatal conditions and Parkinson’s disease, authorities noted.
The male life expectancy in America has dropped to 73.2 years, while the female life expectancy is 79.1 years. Life expectancy declined by one year for the male population mostly due to COVID-19, unintentional injuries, suicide, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis and homicide.
The female life expectancy declined by 0.8 years due to COVID-19, unintentional injuries, heart disease, stroke and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.
Life expectancies vary by more than 20 years between the U.S. demographic with the longest life expectancy (Non-Hispanic Asian females) and the group with the shortest life expectancy (Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native males).
Here’s 2021 U.S. life expectancies from birth, by sex and race:
All races and origins: 76.1 years total, 79.1 female, 73.2 male
Hispanic: 77.7 total, 81 female, 74.4 male
Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native: 65.2 total, 69.2 female, 61.5 male
Non-Hispanic Asian: 83.5 total, 85.6 female, 81.2 male
Non-Hispanic Black: 70.8 total, 74.8 female, 66.7 male
Non-Hispanic White: 76.4 total, 79.2 female, 73.7 male
How does Kentucky’s life expectancy compare?
The CDC released the latest life expectancy data by state Aug. 23, and it includes 2020 data. Figures for Kentucky’s 2021 life expectancy were not immediately available.
Kentucky ranked 47 out of 51 states and D.C. for life expectancy in 2020. Only Alabama, Louisiana, West Virginia and Mississippi had lower life expectancies than the commonwealth.
Here’s 2020 life expectancy from birth in Kentucky, from the CDC:
Total life expectancy: 73.5 years, with a standard error of 0.071
Female life expectancy: 76.5 years, standard error of 0.094
Male life expectancy: 70.6 years, standard error of 0.102
U.S. life expectancy from birth in 2020 ranges from 80.7 years to 71.9 years, depending on the state. The national life expectancy in 2020 was 77 years. Here’s the 50 states and D.C. ranked by total life expectancy from birth, from the CDC:
Hawaii, 80.7 years
Washington, 79.2
Minnesota, 79.1
California: 79
Massachusetts: 79
New Hampshire: 79
Vermont: 78.8
Oregon: 78.8
Utah: 78.6
Connecticut: 78.4
Idaho: 78.4
Colorado: 78.3
Rhode Island: 78.2
Maine: 77.8
New York: 77.7
Nebraska: 77.7
Wisconsin: 77.7
Virginia: 77.6
Florida: 77.5
New Jersey: 77.5
Iowa: 77.5
North Dakota: 76.9
Montana: 76.8
Maryland: 76.8
Pennsylvania: 76.8
Illinois: 76.8
Delaware: 76.7
South Dakota: 76.7
Alaska: 76.6
Texas: 76.5
Kansas: 76.4
Wyoming: 76.3
Arizona: 76.3
Nevada: 76.3
North Carolina: 76.1
Michigan: 76
Georgia: 75.6
Ohio: 75.3
District of Columbia: 75.3
Missouri: 75.1
Indiana: 75
South Carolina: 74.8
New Mexico: 74.5
Oklahoma: 74.1
Arkansas: 73.8
Tennessee: 73.8
Kentucky: 73.5
Alabama: 73.2
Louisiana: 73.1
West Virginia: 72.8
Mississippi: 71.9
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