Life Expectancy In US Rises Again As Fewer People Die From Covid

Americans gained 1.1 years of life expectancy in 2022 after Covid became a less lethal disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The increase to an average maximum age of 77.5 years doesn't compensate for the loss of 2.4 years from 2019 to 2021, the report said.

According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. has registered 1.14 million Covid-related deaths from Jan. 3, 2020 to Nov. 22, 2023.

Life expectancy for women increased to 80.2 years in 2022 and, for men, to 74.8 years. There was a gain for both, although the increase of 1.3 years for men was higher than the 0.9 year for women.

The study also shows that the life expectancy for the Black population, at 72.8 years, remains lower than the 77.5 for the White population. The gap had been narrowing in the past decades, from 7.1 in 1993 to as low as 4 in 2019, increased to 5.5 in 2021 and last year was reduced to 4.7.

Besides Covid, other causes of death that declined in 2022 are heart disease, unintentional injuries, cancer and homicide. The mortality rate was pressured up by influenza and pneumonia, perinatal conditions, kidney disease, nutritional deficiencies and congenital malformations, the CDC said.