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![A fruit seller at Dom Pedro market in Coimbra, central Portugal, reaches with gloves on toward some of her produce.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/gettyimages-1173235565-8f1e84043450292f33113aa544e1c9cf5a9a72e5-scaled-e1679931986409-900x422.jpg)
‘Live free and die?’ The sad state of U.S. life expectancy
By: Selena Simmons-Duffin | NPR
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WASHINGTON (NPR) — Just before Christmas, federal health officials confirmed life expectancy in America had dropped for a nearly unprecedented second year in a row – down to 76 years…. Read More
![People walk in a cross walk in a busy city. They are blurred because of how fast they are walking.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/americanexpectancy22_custom-0b04f027db605036b48856e3f8d328dc5335a872-scaled-e1671722558766-900x422.jpg)
American life expectancy is now at its lowest in nearly two decades
By: Yuki Noguchi | NPR
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — The average life expectancy for Americans shortened by over seven months last year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That… Read More
![Flags at the Washington Monument commemorate Americans who died from COVID-19.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/gettyimages-1341189407_custom-230b451a2827615f1a80b049306fa9a21c15152c-scaled-e1661956484717-900x422.jpg)
Life expectancy in the U.S. continues to drop, driven by COVID-19
By: Jane Greenhalgh | Selena Simmons-Duffin | NPR
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — Life expectancy in the U.S. fell in 2021, for the second year in a row. In 2019, someone born in the U.S. had a life expectancy… Read More
![Patrice Howard writes on white flags before planting them to remember her recently deceased father and close friends in November at "IN AMERICA How Could This Happen...," a public art installation in Washington, D.C. Led by artist Suzanne Firstenberg, volunteers planted white flags in a field to symbolize each life lost to COVID-19 in the U.S.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/gettyimages-1229959341-9514c2a5eae2491ba08b2bd5fddd5ff319d74806-scaled-e1613665469644-900x422.jpg)
American Life Expectancy Dropped By A Full Year In The First Half Of 2020
By: Laurel Wamsley | NPR
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The group that suffered the largest drop in life expectancy was Black males — a decline of 3 years. Hispanic males also saw a large decrease, with a decline of 2.4 years.
![Death rates in the U.S. declined and life expectancy showed a slight uptick in 2018, while drug overdose deaths declined for the first time since the 1990s.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ap_415538012845-664991b65048f4d13ca0f5873d18da93393e305e-scaled-e1580492424585-900x422.jpg)
Life Expectancy Rose Slightly In 2018, As Drug Overdose Deaths Fell
The turnaround is welcome news after rising drug overdose and suicide rates had pushed life expectancy down since 2014. Could America be turning the tide on opioid addiction?
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We’re Living Longer … But A Medical Journal Sees Many Causes For Alarm
By: Joanne Silberner I NPR
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Life expectancy is up. The death rate for young children is down. So why is Dr. Richard Horton, editor of ‘The Lancet,’ worried about global health?