The U.S. death rate rose for the first time in a decade last year,
according to new federal data. New numbers from the National Center for
Health Statistics show more Americans are dying from drug overdoses,
suicide, and Alzheimer’s disease. The rates have been declining for
years amid improvements in medical technology, disease management, and
overall health. While certain groups, like less-educated whites, have
seen sharp rises in death rates due to the prescription-drug epidemic,
national increases for the entire population have become exceedingly
rare. Robert Anderson, chief of mortality statistics at the NCHS, said
it’s significant because the uptick doesn’t usually happen. “But the
question is,” he added, “what does it mean? We really need more data to
know. If we start looking at 2016 and we see another rise, we’ll be a
lot more concerned.” |
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