How does the USA have a declining life expectancy while other developed countries are rising? Researchers feel it is from deaths of despair. Learn what the factors are and how we can help reverse the trend for ourselves and our communities.
In this Episode:
- 02:40 – Celebrating Supercentenarians: Sister André dies at 118
- 04:43 – Recipe of the Week: French Chocolate Truffles
- 06:26 – Why is the USA’s Life Expectancy Falling and What Can We Do About It?
- 24:23 – Old Age is a Gift, an Essay by Margaret Berry (at 100 Years!)
- 27:52 – Outro
Americans Die Prematurely More than Twice as Often as Countries with Similar Wealth – Why?
In 2015, life expectancy in the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, fell for the first time in decades. When compared with similarly wealthy countries, Americans die prematurely more than twice as often. “Deaths as despair” is an explanation given the trend of despair-related mortalities, and evaluated how despair contributes to the rising drug-, alcohol-, and suicide-related deaths among different racial groups.
We talk about the research surrounding this phenomena and what we as a society can do to help reverse the trend for ourselves and others.
One of the Rising Factors: Alcohol
According to the CDC, excessive alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of death in the United States; about 178,000 people died in 2020-2021 from excessive drinking. This was a 29% increase from just 4 years earlier.
Moderation Matters
Note that these excess deaths occur from both drinking alcohol over several years or drinking too much on one occasion. People can die from alcohol poisoning in their first binge drinking session, or from several years of a drink too many. Note that alcohol affects men and women differently, and can cause risk-taking behaviors that have other consequences (unprotected sex, etc.).
Related Episodes
Check out our other episodes on the lifestyles that statistically contribute to a full and meaningful life. We also talk about overdose, loneliness and prevention.
- S2E40: How to Thrive Until Age 100…and Beyond!
- S5E27: Preventable Death – Learn the Factors to Better Your Odds
- S5E23: Slow Ride…Taking the Longer Road to Death
- S4E34: Are You Lonely Tonight? Why Loneliness Is Something You Should Address, and How to Do It.
- S1E41: When someone you love dies from an overdose
- S4E33: Naloxone: The Life-Saving Tool You Should “Open Carry”
- S5E26: Food as Medicine- How to Improve Health through the Right Diet
- S5E28: Learn How Graduating High School May Extend Your Life – The Link Between Education and Mortality
Celebrating a Supercentenarian – Sister André
Sister André, a Roman Catholic nun, dedicated decades of her life to caring for orphans and others when she was assigned to work in a hospital in Vichy, France. At 118 years 340 days, she was the oldest living human, and the 4th verified oldest ever. She enjoyed a bit of wine and chocolate daily. You can read about her full life here.
Recipe of the Week: French Chocolate Truffles
In honor of Sister André’s love of chocolate and life’s simple pleasures, we bring you a decadent but simple to prepare dessert that is sure to be a hit at your next event. Get the recipe here from Pardon Your French.
Old Age is a Gift
Charlie read a viral version of the essay originally published and read by Dr. Margaret Berry. Margaret wrote this essay for her impending 100th birthday on August 8, 2015, which served as a reflection on her long, storied life, and a celebration of the comfort and wisdom it has afforded her. Ms. Berry lived to be 101.
While Charlie had a great rendition, be sure to click on this link to the original article to hear Margaret share this in her own voice!
References:
- Hard Work and Fizzy Drinks: What It Takes to Live Past 110: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/arts/oldest-people-advice-long-life-supercentenarians.html
- Preventable Premature Deaths from the Five Leading Causes of Death in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Counties, United States, 2010–2022 | MMWR (cdc.gov)
- The Case/Deaton study on life expectancy in the US misses the true causes | Vox
- Novosad, Paul, Charlie Rafkin, and Sam Asher. 2022. “Mortality Change among Less Educated Americans.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 14 (4): 1–34. DOI: 10.1257/app.20190297
- Life expectancy in U.S. is falling amid surges in chronic illness – Washington Post
- Case, A., & Deaton, A. (2015). Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(49), 15078–15083. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518393112
- Sterling P, Platt ML. (2022).Why Deaths of Despair Are Increasing in the US and Not Other Industrial Nations—Insights From Neuroscience and Anthropology. JAMA Psychiatry, 79(4):368–374. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.4209
- Zheng, H., & Choi, Y. (2024). Reevaluating the “deaths of despair” narrative: Racial/ethnic heterogeneity in the trend of psychological distress-related death. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(8), e2307656121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2307656121
- Friedman J, Hansen H. (2024).Trends in Deaths of Despair by Race and Ethnicity From 1999 to 2022. JAMA Psychiatry;81(7):731–732. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.0303
- The unrecognized tragedy of deaths of despair | STAT (statnews.com)
- Column: What Does the ‘Deaths of Despair’ Narrative Leave Out? | UCLA Health
- Facts About U.S. Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use | Alcohol Use | CDC
Resources:
- Sister André, World’s Oldest Known Person, Dies at 118 – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- Lucile Randon (Sister André) – Wikipedia
- Deaths of despair are soaring for Americans of color – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
- Old Age is a Gift
- Check Your Drinking | Alcohol | CDC
- SAMHSA’s National Helpline | SAMHSA
- Patient Handout Rethinking Drinking Tips and Tools to Help You Quit Drinking (nih.gov)How To Quit Drinking? Tips From Rethinking Drinking – Rethinking Drinking | NIAAA (nih.gov)
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/
Everyone Dies: and yes, it is normal!
Everyone Dies (and yes, it is normal) is a story about a young boy named Jax who finds something special on the beach where he and his grandpa Pops are enjoying a wonderful day. Pops helps Jax understand that death is a normal part of life. This book provides an age appropriate, non-scary, comfortable way to introduce the important topic of mortality to a preschool child. Its simple explanation will last a lifetime. Autographed copies for sale at: www.everyonediesthebook.com. Also available at Amazon
Mourning Jewelry
We offer a way to memorialize your loved one or treasured pet with a piece of handmade jewelry. When people comment on it and the wearer can say for example “I received this when my mother died” which opens the conversation about this loss. All our jewelry is made with semi-precious stones and beads, vintage beads, and pearls. You can choose between earrings or bracelets and the color family. Learn More
