US Life Expectancy Saw Biggest Drop in 2020 Since World War II
2021-07-23
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1The average life expectancy for people in the United States fell by one year and a half in 2020.
2The decrease marks the largest one-year drop since World War II, public health officials said.
3Experts with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the report on life expectancy Wednesday.
4The decrease was mainly caused by the COVID-19 health crisis.
5Health officials said the pandemic was responsible for close to 74 percent of the life expectancy decline.
6Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live.
7It is a useful method to show a country's health.
8The number can be influenced by long-term health issues, such as weight problems.
9It also can be influenced by more temporary threats like pandemics or wars -- which might not affect those newborns in their lifetimes.
10More than 3.3 million Americans died last year.
11That is far more than any other year in U.S. history.
12COVID-19 made up about 11 percent of those deaths.
13For many years, U.S. life expectancy was rising.
14In 2019, the estimate was 78 years, 10 months.
15Last year, the CDC said, it dropped to about 77 years, 4 months.
16The decrease among Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was greater than the national average.
17The number for both populations dropped by three years.
18Life expectancy among Black Americans has not fallen so much in one year since the 1930s, during the Great Depression.
19Black life expectancy dropped last year to 71 years and 10 months.
20It has not been that low since 2000.
21Hispanic Americans have a longer life expectancy than white or Black Americans.
22Health officials only started measuring Hispanic life expectancy 15 years ago.
23The three-year drop measured in 2020 is the largest one-year decrease on record.
24Several problems affected Black and Hispanic people in 2020 that made COVID-19 a greater risk.
25Experts said these included a lack of good health care and more crowded living conditions.
26Experts also said that these groups held a greater share of lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working as usual during the pandemic.
27Elizabeth Arias was the report's lead writer.
28She said a rise in murders among Black Americans was a small but important reason for the drop among that population.
29Other causes of the national life expectancy drop included drug abuse problems, especially among white Americans.
30The sharp fall among all populations is "basically catastrophic," said Mark Hayward.
31He is a University of Texas professor who studies changes in U.S. death rates.
32Life expectancy in 2020 fell nearly two years for men, but only about one year for women, widening an already existing difference between the sexes.
33The CDC reports a life expectancy of 74 years, 6 months for boys in 2020.
34For girls, life expectancy is 80 years, 2 months.
35I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The average life expectancy for people in the United States fell by one year and a half in 2020. The decrease marks the largest one-year drop since World War II, public health officials said. 2Experts with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the report on life expectancy Wednesday. 3The decrease was mainly caused by the COVID-19 health crisis. Health officials said the pandemic was responsible for close to 74 percent of the life expectancy decline. 4Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live. It is a useful method to show a country's health. The number can be influenced by long-term health issues, such as weight problems. It also can be influenced by more temporary threats like pandemics or wars -- which might not affect those newborns in their lifetimes. 5More than 3.3 million Americans died last year. That is far more than any other year in U.S. history. COVID-19 made up about 11 percent of those deaths. 6For many years, U.S. life expectancy was rising. In 2019, the estimate was 78 years, 10 months. Last year, the CDC said, it dropped to about 77 years, 4 months. 7The decrease among Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was greater than the national average. The number for both populations dropped by three years. 8Life expectancy among Black Americans has not fallen so much in one year since the 1930s, during the Great Depression. Black life expectancy dropped last year to 71 years and 10 months. It has not been that low since 2000. 9Hispanic Americans have a longer life expectancy than white or Black Americans. Health officials only started measuring Hispanic life expectancy 15 years ago. The three-year drop measured in 2020 is the largest one-year decrease on record. 10Several problems affected Black and Hispanic people in 2020 that made COVID-19 a greater risk. Experts said these included a lack of good health care and more crowded living conditions. Experts also said that these groups held a greater share of lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working as usual during the pandemic. 11Elizabeth Arias was the report's lead writer. She said a rise in murders among Black Americans was a small but important reason for the drop among that population. 12Other causes of the national life expectancy drop included drug abuse problems, especially among white Americans. 13The sharp fall among all populations is "basically catastrophic," said Mark Hayward. He is a University of Texas professor who studies changes in U.S. death rates. 14Life expectancy in 2020 fell nearly two years for men, but only about one year for women, widening an already existing difference between the sexes. The CDC reports a life expectancy of 74 years, 6 months for boys in 2020. For girls, life expectancy is 80 years, 2 months. 15I'm Ashley Thompson. 16The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor. 17_____________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19decline -n. a change to a lower amount or number 20pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 21Hispanic -adj. coming from an area where Spanish is spoken, especially Latin America 22catastrophic -adj. something that is a terrible disaster