U.S. life expectancy dropped to a 25-year low in 2021 

The life expectancy for the average U.S. citizen is the lowest it has been for 25 years, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The life expectancy for people born in 2021 is 76.4 years, the lowest on record since 1996. The figures for 2021 represent a 0.6-year decline compared to 2020 and a 2.4-year decline compared to 2019, when the life expectancy was 78.8 years, reported the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. 

For men, life expectancy decreased by 0.7 years between 2020 and 2021, from 74.2 to 73.5 years. Women saw a decline of 0.6 years, from 79.9 in 2020 to 79.3 in 2021. 

CDC officials claim that the drop in life expectancy stems from two major factors: the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing number of Americans abusing drugs. 

“In 2021, Covid-19 continued to make up a significant portion of deaths in America and was the third-leading cause of death in the country behind heart disease and cancer for the second year in a row. Almost one in eight deaths were due to Covid-19 in 2021, up from one in 10 deaths in 2021,” reported the advisory board. 

The pandemic and its subsequent shutdowns that left people isolated from support networks exacerbated the ongoing drug addiction and substance abuse endemic, reported Fox News. 

Around 107,000 Americans died of an overdose in 2021, representing a 14% increase in overdose deaths from 2020 and a 50% from 2019. Most of the drug-related deaths were due to synthetic opioids, including fentanyl. 

"These data are very tragic but not surprising," said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The pandemic had a magnifying effect on an already-devastating overdose crisis, and exacerbated many of the stressors in society that make people more vulnerable to taking drugs."