Iowans' life expectancy drops by more than 1 year

COVID-19 drove Iowans' life expectancy down by 1.5 years from 2019 to 2020, according to newly released CDC data.

Why it matters: The pandemic is taking a toll on our health as more Iowans are dying prematurely than expected.

• Increases in unintentional injuries, specifically drug overdose deaths, also contributed.

By the numbers: Our life expectancy was 79 years in 2019, but dropped to 77.5 in 2020.

• Iowa did better than the rest of the country, which declined 1.8 years to 77.3 years old.
• The greatest declines in life expectancy were New York, with a 3-year drop, and D.C., with a 2.7-year drop. The lowest decline in life expectancy was in Hawaii, with 0.2 years.

The big picture: Across the U.S., our life expectancy dropped a historic 2.7 years between 2019-21, according to preliminary 2020-21 data from the CDC.

• It's the largest two-year drop since the 1920s.