BOSTON — A recent study is revealing the dire state of public health in the United States. In comparison to other wealthy nations, the U.S. death rate far outpaces America’s peers — leading researchers to say that the country is actually “experiencing a crisis of early death.”
Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) found that more than one million U.S. deaths a year — including many young and working-age adults — could be avoided if the country had mortality rates similar to other high-income nations.
In 2021, 1.1 million deaths would have been averted if the U.S. had mortality rates similar to other wealthy nations. The study refers to these excess deaths as “Missing Americans,” because these deaths reflect people who would still be alive if the U.S. death rate was equal to its peer countries.
“The number of Missing Americans in recent years is unprecedented in modern times,” says Dr. Jacob Bor, the study’s lead and corresponding author and associate professor of global health and epidemiology at BUSPH, in a media release.
Nearly 50 percent of all Missing Americans died before age 65 in 2020 and 2021. The study found that the level of excess mortality among working-age adults is particularly stark.
“Think of people you know who have passed away before reaching age 65. Statistically, half of them would still be alive if the U.S. had the mortality rates of our peers,” Dr. Bor said. “The U.S. is experiencing a crisis of early death that is unique among wealthy nations.”
The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a sharp spike in mortality in the U.S. — more so than in other countries — but the new findings show that the number of excess U.S. deaths has been accelerating over the last four decades. Dr. Bor and the team analyzed trends in U.S. deaths from 1933 to 2021, including the impact of COVID-19, and then compared these trends with age-specific mortality rates in Canada, Japan, Australia, and 18 European nations.
The U.S. had lower mortality rates than its peer during World War II and its aftermath. During the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. had mortality rates similar to other wealthy nations, but the number of Missing Americans began to increase year by year starting in the 1980s, reaching 622,534 annual excess U.S. deaths by 2019. Deaths then spiked to 1,009,467 in 2020 and 1,090,103 in 2021 during the pandemic. From 1980 to 2021, there were a total of 13.1 million Missing Americans.
The researchers emphasize that this mortality crisis is a multiracial phenomenon and is not specific to minority groups. Black and Native Americans are overrepresented in these measures, with mortality rates in early adulthood (ages 15-44) that were five and eight times higher than the average of other wealthy nations.
The team also says that the history of structural racism in the U.S., including policies such as slavery and redlining, has contributed to racial and ethnic disparities in wealth and in access to education, housing, and health care that drive leading causes of worse mortality rates, particularly at young ages.
Still, two-thirds of the Missing Americans are White, a result of the larger population of White Americans, their older age distribution, and death rates that are significantly higher than other wealthy nations.
“Living in the U.S. is a risk factor for early death that is common across many U.S. racial and ethnic groups. Whereas most health disparities studies assess differences between U.S. racial/ethnic groups, such an approach renders the poor health of Whites invisible and grossly underestimates the health shortfall of minoritized groups,” Dr. Bor says.
“By using an international benchmark, we show that Americans of all races and ethnicities are adversely affected by the U.S. policy environment, which places a low priority on public health and social protections, particularly for low-income people.”
Accounting for future years of life lost due when a person dies prematurely, the team estimates that in 2021, excess U.S. mortality translated to 26.4 million years of life lost relative to the mortality rates of peer nations. They connect the large excess mortality burden to the failure of U.S. policy to adequately address major public health issues, including the opioid epidemic, gun violence, environmental pollution, economic inequality, food insecurity, and workplace safety.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many of these issues, particularly among lower-income and minority groups, and now that most of the safety-net policies created during COVID-19 have expired, vulnerable groups have lost vital support.
“We waste hundreds of billions each year on health insurers’ profits and paperwork, while tens of millions can’t afford medical care, healthy food, or a decent place to live,” says Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, study senior author and Distinguished Professor at the School of Urban Public Health at Hunter College in New York. “Americans die younger than their counterparts elsewhere because when corporate profits conflict with health, our politicians side with the corporations.”
In comparison to the U.S., other countries also had higher vaccination uptake and mask policies during the Omicron wave, and this layered mitigation was associated with fewer COVID-19 cases.
The findings raise a number of urgent questions that will be critical to address in future research, says study co-author Dr. Andrew Stokes, assistant professor of global health at BUSPH.
“Which geographic areas are disproportionately responsible for the Missing Americans, and what were their causes of death? Answers to these questions may help to clarify policy solutions,” Dr. Stokes explains.
At the moment, Dr. Bor says he is not optimistic that mortality rates will reverse in the near future, even as COVID-related deaths continue to wane from their 2021 peak.
“The U.S. was already experiencing more than 600,000 Missing Americans annually before the pandemic began, and that number was increasing each year. There have been no significant policy changes since then to change this trajectory,” Dr. Bor adds.
“While COVID-19 brought new attention to public health, the backlash unleashed during the pandemic has undermined trust in government and support for expansive policies to improve population health,” Bor concludes. “This could be the most harmful long-term impact of the pandemic, because expansion of public policy to support health is exactly how our peer countries have attained higher life expectancy and better health outcomes.”
The study was published in the journal PNAS Nexus.
The article didn’t seem to address more likely issues such as the opioid crisis, increases in suicides and increased career stress from greater demands to do more with less and the life style sacrifices from the daily “rat race”.
Honestly, if the article would have actually provided empirical evidence or mentioned the above items; the blatant political agenda and bias wouldn’t have been so obvious.
Won’t be sending kid to that school. What a drivel analysis. And, tax dollars actually pay for this propoganda.
You forgot the hospital protocols of intubation and opioids and Remdesivir, as well as the MRNA clot shot.
The stats don’t quite make sense. The article says that black missing people is 5X that of whites but that whites comprise 2/3 of the US missing. If blacks are 11% of the US population, then the distinguished professor author has just flunked statistics. Specifically, if blacks suffer 5X the rate of early death than whites and they comprise 11% of the population, then whites would need to comprise a minority of early deaths. What gives?
This study is remarkable and intelligently accomplished. Prior comments reflecting a political bias do not alter the statistics of the study. Such comments showcase closed minds unable to comprehend the trouble we are in and instead follow the tactic of distraction and distortion. To attack is to fail to understand. The truth is a hard pill to swallow and the cure is unfathomable to the uneducated.
“Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) found that more than one million U.S. deaths a year — including many young and working-age adults — could be avoided if the country had mortality rates similar to other high-income nations.”
So the cure is to have mortality rates similar to other high-income nations! The silver bullet, and a beautiful tautology. BUSPH should drop the second, fourth, and fifth letters of its acronym
‘America is experiencing a crisis of early deaths’, attributable to what? Car accidents? No. Gun violence? No. Both of those causes are isolated. Diabetes? No. Suicides? No. Drug overdoses? No. Police brutality? No. Military combat deaths? No. Fatal workplace injuries? No….. Vaccines? Ah, hmm? Now, you’re getting somewhere. Unproven, insufficiently tested, intravenous elixirs.
Yes it’s very dangerous in the US please don’t come.
Complete and utter nonsense. Compare apples to apples .. eg Americans of Rwandan or Norwegian descent vs. Rwandans and citizens of Norway. Americans are healthier, wealthier and wiser.
Who cares how many Americans are dying. Americans love to die. If they didn’t they would be taking steps to prevent it.
They aren’t so let them die.
The world is a better place for it.
More than half of college students CHEAT to get their diplomas.
Experts are wrong much of the time.
Go figure.
I blame Obamacare. Law of the land since about 2010.
ObamaCare has plenty of issues, but what we had before it was worse. We desperately need to replace it with a single payer healthcare system.
The countries with the best health outcomes have single payer, so why not attempt to replicate their success?
Oh ok. Well when my daughter was diagnosed with cancer we found out her insurance had a max out of pocket number and because of that we paid about $10,000 out of over a million $. So Obama care is FANTASTIC!!!
People must take responsibility for their own health. Yes. Many have issues not of their own making, but too much food; too many visits to the brew pup; too little exercise, all have consquences. Food insecurity is NOT an issue. Obesity is a much larger issue.
Also, according to Brookings, out of wedlock births have soared since 1970 when 24% of black infants and 3.1% or whites were born out of wedlock. Now, its 64% and 18%. Is there a correlation? Does one need two parents to learn good self health care?
People must take responsibility for their own health. Yes. Many have issues not of their own making, but too much food; too many visits to the brew pup; too little exercise, all have consquences. Food insecurity is NOT an issue. Obesity is a much larger issue.
Also, according to Brookings, out of wedlock births have soared since 1970 when 24% of black infants and 3.1% or whites were born out of wedlock. Now, its 64% and 18%. Is there a correlation?
Not all people have access to the things you do.
Ya all are a Buncha mean heartless SOB’s.
I got mine and to hell with you!
That seems to sum up your attitude, mean while real people suffer in pain and die.
PS this article was written by AI. You can tell by how nonsensical it is.
The vast majority of these ‘early’ deaths occur in southern states. Remove the old confederate states and the US is on par with the top ranked European nations. Southern poverty is not just an economic issue, it is also a mental and lifestyle issue.
Exactly.
America needs to get rid of the Parasite Republican states.
Vendi, I love your religion. It’s a mark of true submission that you place yourself unquestioningly below your invisible deity. Do you dress in colorful attire and perform intricate dances in your worship? If so, you may get many to convert to it. But, it smacks of devil-worship to me.
So, sorry, I won’t be converting, but may culturally appropriate the colorful attire and intricate dancing.
Yeah, rather than blame govt policy, food insecurity, environmental issues, and whatever other buzzwords of the day, let’s discuss how fat and sedentary Americans are these days. We have a Type 2 Diabetes/pre-diabetic issue in America. You fix the weight issues and activity issues, and you’ll almost entirely solve the problem. Instead, let’s just look the other way as long as we can. Blame climate change, income disparities, and whatever else that won’t solve the issue.
Bola de pendejos todos!
Most of the people dying are doing so because of bad personal life choices.
Smoke
Drugs
Obese
Suicide
Gang violence
Or, just plain stupid
I’m personally okay with all of the above.
Think of it as survival of the fittest.