During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts noticed a disturbing statistic: Starting in 2020, the average American life expectancy began to plummet. The downward trend was primarily attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as early as the 2010s, the average American life expectancy had started to plateau and even slightly dip. In addition to a historic pandemic, Americans' collective health has taken a hit due to the obesity epidemic and inequitable access to quality health care.
Yet according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American life expectancy rose by 1.1 years between 2021 and 2022. Through the CDC's Division of Vital Statistics, agency experts ascertained the average life expectancy is 77.5 years — or 80.2 years for women and 74.8 years for men.
"Declines in mortality due to COVID-19 were the primary reason for the increases in life expectancy from 2021 to 2022 observed for the total population and each of the five Hispanic- origin and race groups shown in this report," the authors wrote. Decreases in COVID-19 mortality accounted for 92.4% of the life expectancy increase for Hispanic Americans, 80.6% of the increase for White Americans, 79.5% of the increase for Asian Americans, 71.9% of the increase for Black Americans, and 70.0% of the increase for American Indian and Alaska Native non-Hispanic populations. The news is not all rosy. The average life expectancy would have been even higher if not for increases in mortality due to malnutrition, kidney disease, flu and pneumonia and birth problems.
