Sep 1, 2022 - News
Life expectancy drops among Tennesseans
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Life expectancy in Tennessee fell by 1.8 years from 2019 to 2020, according to new CDC data.
By the numbers: Tennesseans lived to an average age of 73.8 — lower than the national average of 77.
- Women in the state (77) tended to live longer than men (70.7).
The big picture: Nationwide, life expectancy also dropped by 1.8 years. The decline is mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increases in unintentional injuries, specifically drug overdose deaths, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports.
- COVID-19 caused approximately 375,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2020, while 91,799 people died of a drug overdose in the country that year.
A study released in April 2022 showed that U.S. life expectancy likely dropped again in 2021. The researchers found a net loss of 2.26 years over 2020 and 2021.