Rate drops nationally, but at half the rate of NC

(David Raynor, The News & Observer) — North Carolina’s average life expectancy declined by more than a year from 76.1 to 74.9 from 2020 to 2021, according to new Centers for Disease Control data for all 50 states. The rate dropped nationally, too, but at half the rate NC did: from 77 to 76.4.

All but 11 states saw their averages decline. In 2000, the CDC’s average life expectancy in NC was 76.3, 1.4 years higher than in 2021 and more comparable to 2020.

Based on this new data, the CDC now ranks North Carolina 36th in the country in life expectancy, with the state dropping one spot from 35th in 2020. In 2023, the agency released a report that did not include state data but put the national average life expectancy at 77.5, up 1.1 years from 2021.

Many factors contribute to the ranking. One is an increase in accidental and unintentional deaths and deaths from COVID-19, according to the NC Department of Health Human Services.

Average life span calculations are especially sensitive to factors that cause deaths in younger populations. North Carolina has seen a significant increase in overdose deaths in recent years, especially since COVID-19. From 2018 to 2022 there was an 89% increase in overdose deaths, from 2,301 to 4,339. The rate per 100,000 residents also very nearly doubled from 22.2 to 44.1. And opioid overdose deaths mainly occur among younger people, and have contributed to a decline in life expectancy, according to DHHS.

NCMS ARCHIVE: Life Expectancy Gap Between Men and Women Widening

In 2022, the CDC reports that three-fourths of all drug overdose deaths in the country were under the age of 55. Seven out of ten who died were male.

Women still outlive men. Nationally and in North Carolina, the gap is about six years and it increased each year from 2019 to 2021, according to the CDC. The life expectancy for males in the state is 72, for females, 77.9, according to this CDC report. Nationally, for males it’s 73.5, females, 79.3. That said, the difference in life expectancy for males and females is not as great as it has been at times in the past. In 1980 in North Carolina, the gap was 8.8 years. It dropped about a year in 1990 to 7.7 and continued to decline to 6.5 years in 2000.

DHHS staff caution that life expectancy is a statistical measure, and is based on the ages at which people are dying now. To determine which factors have the largest impact in North Carolina, especially compared to the US, requires more comprehensive research and analysis.

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