U.S. life expectancy increased by 1.1 years last year while suicides rose to a record high, according to provisional federal data.
The expected lifespan of a U.S. resident at birth rose from 76.4 years in 2021 to 77.5 years in 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. That exceeded the 77.3 years the CDC calculated in 2020 but fell short of the 78.8 years estimated in 2019, the last year before deaths from COVID impacted the analysis.
“Life expectancy increased after two straight years of declines due primarily to the decrease in deaths from COVID-19,” CDC statistician Elizabeth Arias, the report’s lead author, told The Washington Times.
She noted that the 1.1-year increase makes up 46% of the 2.4 years lost between 2019 and 2021 due to COVID deaths. In 2021, the agency reported that COVID deaths drove U.S. life expectancy down to 73.5 years.
In a separate report drawing from the same mortality data, the CDC found that suicides rose by 3% last year, from 48,183 in 2021 to 49,449. That is the highest number of suicides in U.S. history, exceeding the previous record of 48,344 in 2018.
The rate of suicides per 100,000 people grew from 14.1 in 2021 to 14.3 last year, the highest the CDC has recorded since 1941.
Sally Curtin, a CDC statistician and lead author of the suicide report, noted that the increase in people taking their lives occurred among all age groups older than 34 and nearly all racial groups.
“Suicide rates have been increasing almost steadily during the 21st century,” Ms. Curtin told The Times. “There have been documented increases in depression and other mental health issues which are risk factors for suicide. But the drivers of the increase are complex and multifaceted.”
The life expectancy report found men regained 1.3 years of their 2.8-year life expectancy loss between 2019 and 2021, increasing from 73.5 in 2021 to 74.8 in 2022. Women regained 0.9 years of their 2.1-year life expectancy loss, growing from 79.3 in 2021 to 80.2 last year.
Researchers calculate life expectancy at birth as the average number of years a newborn would live if mortality patterns at the time of their birth did not change during their lifetime.
According to the CDC, declines in COVID deaths accounted for about 84% of last year’s increase in life expectancy. Other factors included fewer deaths from heart disease, unintentional injuries, cancer and murder.
The agency noted that increased deaths from influenza and pneumonia, perinatal conditions, kidney disease, nutritional deficiencies and congenital malformations slowed the increase.
Meanwhile, suicides increased at twice the rate for women (2%) than for men (4%) last year. But the 39,255 suicides among men remained nearly four times higher than the 10,194 suicides among women.
The age-adjusted suicide rate rose by 4% for women and 1% for men. It also increased by 3% for people aged 35-44 and 9% for those aged 55-64.
While the two reports did not explain these trends or link suicides to life expectancy, the CDC found in a November 2018 report that increases in deaths of despair have limited the lifespan of Americans in recent decades.
Some health experts not connected to the reports told The Times that the findings suggest a return to pre-pandemic trends. They noted that before COVID-19, suicide rates increased annually from 2008 to 2018, while life expectancy rose steadily for four decades.
Dr. Brandon Yan, a life expectancy researcher and resident physician at the University of California, San Francisco said the CDC figures confirm suicide risks continue to rise even as vaccines have neutralized COVID.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has receded into an endemic disease with plummeting death rates,” Dr. Yan said. “However, factors contributing to poor mental health— including social isolation in a digitizing and polarizing society, economic anxiety, and inadequate access to care — continue.
Jennifer Ellers, a counselor and senior director at the American Association of Christian Counselors, said a “sense of disconnection” during pandemic lockdowns has increased the nation’s suicide risks.
“Young people were particularly impacted by the social isolation created by the pandemic,” Ms. Ellers said in an email. “We also know that young people are experiencing record rates of mental health issues like anxiety and depression.”
According to the experts, honest conversations and a sense of belonging can help prevent suicide.
“The recently developed 988 access line also provides 24/7 support for individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts or mental health crises, and local hospitals and mental health agencies can provide both emergency support and ongoing treatment,” said Irene Kraegel, director of counseling and wellness at Calvin University in Michigan.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.