Work

The “double Jeopardy” of Midlife and Old Age Mortality Trends in the United States

Year: 2023

Type: conference-abstract

Abstract: Since 2010, U.S. life expectancy growth has stagnated. Much research on U.S. mortality has focused on working age adults given adverse trends in drug overdose deaths, other external causes of death, and cardiometabolic deaths in midlife. We show that the adverse mortality trend at retirement ages (65+ years) has in fact been more consequential to the U.S. life expectancy stagnation since 2010, as well as excess deaths and years of life lost in 2019, than adverse mortality trends at working ages. These results reveal that the U.S. is experiencing a “double jeopardy” that is driven by both mid-life and older-age mortality trends, but more so by older-age mortality. Understanding and addressing the causes behind the worsening mortality trend in older ages will be essential to returning to the pace of life expectancy improvements that the U.S. had experienced for decades.

Source: Innovation in Aging

DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igad104.3625

Authors: Leah Abrams, Neil Mehta, Mikko Myrskyla

Institutions: Tufts University, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Max Planck Society

Language: English

Topic: Insurance, Mortality, Demography, Risk Management

Subfield: Demography

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,615