In the U.S. in particular, life expectancies have been falling and this declined with Gen X and Y citizens in particular. Declines have also been tracked with older Baby Boomers, with a downward trend in life expectancy dating from 2014. The reasons for these declines are complex, and there are considerable variations according to gender and ethnicity.
For the new analysis, scientists have studied data collated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mortality Multiple Cause Files, covering for the years 1990-2016. Focusing on For the later Generation X brigade (born 1973-1980) and early Generation Y (born 1981-1991) age groups, leading causes of death have been shown to vary by ethnicity. With these two cohorts:
For Hispanics, overdoses and suicides are the leading causes of death.
For non-Hispanic whites, both men and women, overdoses and alcohol-related diseases appear to drive increased mortality.
For non-Hispanic black women, diabetes-related mortality is increasing.
For non-Hispanic black men, leading causes are cancer, alcohol-related diseases and external causes, such as traffic accidents.
It is also noted that members of the Generation X and Generation Y cohorts were impacted by a series of recessions. The difficulty i finding jobs contributed to greater health impacts, and this appears to have affected life expectancy.
The research has been published in the journal International Journal of Epidemiology. The research paper is headed “Recent Trends in U.S. Mortality in Early and Middle Adulthood: Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Inter-Cohort Patterns.”
