随着药物过量,美国人的预期寿命下降,自杀率上升

Suicides² and Drug Overdose Deaths Push Down US Life Expectancy³

Suicides and drug overdoses were two reasons for an increase in the number of deaths in the United States last year. They also were partly to blame for a continuing decrease in how long Americans are expected to live.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there were more than 2.8 million deaths nationwide in 2017. That is nearly 70,000 more than in 2016. It was the most deaths in a single year since the U.S. government began counting more than a century ago.

The Associated Press says the increase is partly a result of the nation’s growing, aging population. But it is deaths in younger age groups — especially middle-aged⁴ people — that have had the biggest effect on life expectancy, experts said.

The “statistics are a wake-up call that we are losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield.

The report, called “Suicide¹ Mortality in the United States, 1999-2017,” was based on government records. It found that the suicide death rate last year was the highest in at least 50 years. There were more than 47,000 suicides, up from a little less than 45,000 the year before.

In addition to suicide, the United States is experiencing a drug abuse crisis⁶, with more than 70,000 overdose deaths last year. The CDC report, “Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999-2017,” said overdose deaths rose 10 percent last year. It blamed the increase largely on the illegal use of synthetic⁷ opioids, drugs that are designed to ease pain.

The Decrease

For a long time, U.S. life expectancy rates were increasing, rising a few months nearly every year. Now, life expectancy is decreasing. It fell in 2015, stayed the same in 2016, and decreased again last year, the CDC said.

A baby born in the United States last year is expected to live about 78 years and 7 months. An American born in 2015 or 2016 was expected to live about a month longer, and one born in 2014 about two months longer than that.

The nation is in the longest period of decreasing life expectancy since the early 1900s, when World War I and influenza⁸ combined killed nearly 1 million Americans. In 1918, average life expectancy was 39 years.

Barring the unusual experience of the early 20th century, “we’ve never really seen anything like this,” said Robert Anderson, a CDC official.

Among the nation’s 10 leading causes of death, only the cancer death rate fell in 2017, while 7 other causes increased. They include suicide, drug overdose, diabetes⁹ and Alzheimer’s disease.

Heart disease remains¹⁰ the number one killer¹¹, and the death rate from heart disease has stopped falling. In years past, reductions in heart disease deaths were enough to serve as a counterbalance to other causes of death, but that is no longer true, Anderson said.

Causes of Death

CDC officials did not try to explain the cause of decreasing life expectancy, but a disease prevention expert thinks the cause is hopelessness.

William Dietz is with George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He suggested that financial struggles, inequality and divisive politics are all depressing many Americans. “I really do believe that people are increasingly hopeless, and that that leads to drug use, it leads…to suicide,” he said.

But the increase in drug overdose deaths has started to slow. From 2015 to 2016, the rate of increase was 26 percent, but from 2016 to 2017, it was 10 percent.

That’s not quite cause for celebration, said John Rowe, a professor of health policy at Columbia University in New York.

“Maybe it’s starting to slow down, but it hasn’t turned around yet,” Rowe said. “I think it will take several years.”

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

overdose – n. an amount of a drug or medicine that is too much and usually dangerous

statistic⁵ – n. a number that represents a piece of information

synthetic – adj. made by combining different substances : not natural

influenza – n. a common disease that is caused by a virus and that causes fever, weakness, body aches, and breathing problem

diabetes – n. a serious disease in which the body cannot properly control the amount of sugar in your blood because it does not have enough insulin

1 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

2 suicides   

n.自杀( suicide的名词复数 )；自取灭亡；自杀者；自杀性行为

参考例句：

• Since when do suicides miss twice, lay down a rug and start over? 自杀什么时候会失手二次后铺好地毯然后再试一次？ 来自电影对白
• Chris: And the reality is suicides go to hell? 克里斯：而现实就是自杀者要下地狱？ 来自互联网

3 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

4 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

5 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

6 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

7 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

8 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

9 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。