美國人的預期壽命在不斷下降，為什么？

“美國人的平均壽命，并沒有跟其他富裕國家保持同一節奏，而是在下降。”

這一嚴峻的結論來自一份新的研究報告，作出此報告的是弗吉尼亞聯邦大學醫學院的研究者們。

這是試圖解開美國人平均壽命下降之謎的最新一份報告。研究者們提到，自2014年以來，美國人平均壽命開始下降（2017年時平均值為78.6歲，而2016年時是78.9歲）。

這似乎只是短時的變化，但實際上是嚴重的下降——尤其考慮到最近50年來美國人的平均壽命是持續增加的。

那么是什么導致了這種悲劇的趨勢呢？研究者們指出了一些潛在的罪魁禍首：過度使用藥物、自殺和器官系統病變（比如影響心肺的器官紊亂，或可能導致如糖尿病等癥狀的病變）。

根據研究顯示，這種早期死亡率的高發，還集中在特定人群，尤其是年輕人和中年人。并且相對死亡率升高最嚴重的地區是俄亥俄山谷和新英格蘭（這些地區阿片類藥物成癮問題嚴重）。

這些地區的公共健康開支顯然難以為繼。而真實生命的逝去，是一場災難。（財富中文網）

譯者：宣峰

“U.S. life expectancy has not kept pace with that of other wealthy countries and is now decreasing.”

That grim conclusion comes from a new study by researchers from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

It’s the latest study attempting to unravel the mystery of falling U.S. life expectancy. As the researchers note, life expectancy has seen a dropoff since 2014 (it stood at about 78.6 years, on average, in 2017 compared with 78.9 years in 2016).

That may read like a blip, but it’s a serious decline—especially considering that life expectancy had consistently grown over the previous 50 years.

So what’s causing this tragic trend? The researchers point to a number of potential culprits: Drug overdoses, suicides, and organ system diseases (the kinds of disorders affecting the heart and lungs, or potentially linked with conditions such as diabetes).

This early mortality spike is also concentrated among certain groups, according to the study, especially younger and middle-aged people. And the largest relative mortality increases have occurred in the Ohio Valley and New England (regions that have had to grapple with opioid addiction).

The public health costs here are clearly unsustainable. The literal loss of life is a catastrophe.