Because of "truly alarming" health disparities, the U.S. life expectancy gap has grown to 20 years, according to researchers.

Because of "truly alarming" health disparities, the U.S. life expectancy gap has grown to 20 years, according to researchers.

In the United States, life expectancy varies by almost 20 years based on race, ethnicity, and place of residence, according to recent studies. The authors describe the extent of health inequities as "truly alarming." The study, which was published Thursday in The Lancet, examined population estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics from 2000 to 2021 as well as death records from the National Vital Statistics System.

According to the scientists, there were noticeable differences in life expectancy throughout the study period, but they became increasingly significant with time, especially in the first two years of the COVID-19 epidemic. "In a nation with the wealth and resources of the United States, the scope and magnitude of health disparities in American society are truly alarming," senior author Christopher J.L. Murray stated in a news release. "These disparities reflect the unequal and unjust distribution of resources and opportunities that have profound consequences on well-being and longevity, especially in marginalized populations."

Americans at the bottom of the life expectancy scale lived an average of 70.5 years in 2000, while those at the top lived an average of 83.1 years, a 12.6-year gap. According to the most recent data, the difference has already grown to 20.4 years in 2021, from 13.9 years in 2010 to 18.9 years in 2020. "US life expectancy has shifted in the wrong direction, falling further behind that of most other peer wealthy nations" is the study's conclusion regarding those two decades.

American Indian or Alaska Native people in the West and Black Americans living in low-income and non-metropolitan counties in the South, as well as in highly segregated metropolitan regions, had the lowest average life expectancy in 2000. Asian Americans have the longest life expectancy on average. With the exception of American Indian or Alaska Native people in the West, who had a roughly one-year drop in life expectancy, life expectancy rose for other groups between 2000 and 2010. Results for Latino and White populations differed according on where they resided. For instance, life expectancy was lower for white Americans living in low-income counties in the Lower Mississippi Valley and Appalachia than it was elsewhere.

Following the pandemic's effects, the differences widened significantly by 2021,

with Asian Americans averaging 84 years and American Indian or Alaska Native people in the West averaging 63.6 years. With notable regional differences, the life expectancy of non-Hispanic Black Americans dropped from 74.8 to 71.0 years only two years prior. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, historically marginalised populations experienced the highest mortality rates and horrific losses in life expectancy," the researchers stated.

To address these gaps, Murray stated, "Policymakers must take collective action to invest in equitable health care, education, and employment opportunities and challenge the systemic barriers that create and perpetuate these inequities so that all Americans can live long, healthy lives regardless of where they live and their race, ethnicity, or income."