CT life expectancy good news
Connecticut residents can expect to live 1.3 years longer than other Americans, according to a new CDC analysis. Based on age-specific death rates in 2018, well before the pandemic, Connecticut residents lived longer than all but four other states, Hawaii (#1), California, New York, and Minnesota. Connecticut also ranked 5th in life expectancy at birth for males, while Connecticut females did better, ranking 3rd among states. Differences between states are dwarfed by the difference between males and females. Both in Connecticut and for all Americans, females live 5.0 years longer than males. Residents of Northeastern states live longer than people living in Southern states.
This report comes after a CDC report last month that found a drop of a year in Americans’ life expectancy in the first half of last year from 2019. This is the biggest drop since World War II. Reversing a trend of narrowing health disparities, the gap grew in early 2020. The drop is likely due to the pandemic and the resulting depression accelerating deaths of despair.