Mortality among young adults, aged 25-44, has skyrocketed in recent years, according to a new study which shows significant increases in deaths by drug overdose, alcohol-related conditions and a host of other more mysterious causes.
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Deaths of young adults in 2023 were 70% higher than they would have been in if trends from before 2011 had continued.
“One surprising thing about the increases in these causes of death are that these are causes of death that primarily kill people at much older ages,” said Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, associate professor of sociology and study author.
The study looked at over three million deaths among Americans aged 25-44 during the period 1999-2023.
The researchers identified two separate trends in mortality: an increase between 1999 and 2011, and a sharp increase from 2011 to 2019, which grew even sharper from 2020 to 2023.
Unnatural causes such as drug overdoses were the leading cause of deaths during the study period, accounting for a third of all deaths. Drug overdoses have been the significant biggest cause since 2014, with a significant increase since 2020, for reasons the study authors do not explain.
The contribution of cardio-metabolic conditions, including conditions related to heart and hormone function, as well as nutrition, was also substantial.
Compared to trends before 2011, deaths from most causes were significantly higher in 2023 than would be expected. Excess mortality was 35% greater in 2019, then tripled during the pandemic, before falling. Nevertheless, excess mortality in 2023 is still 70% higher than would be expected if pre-2011 trends had continued.
“The fact that we saw a real growth in mortality at these relatively young ages is very worrying because it suggests that many more deaths may come in the future as these cohorts age into midlife and beyond, if these trends aren’t reversed before then,” Professor Wrigley-Field added.
The pandemic is suggested as one reason for the spike in excess mortality, but longer term causes, such as the dislocations caused by the economic crash of 2008, are also suggested.
So-called “deaths from despair”—deaths resulting, directly or indirectly, from feelings of hopelessness and despair, brought on by hardship, isolation and lack of opportunities—are identified as a possible key factor in explaining the alarming rise in mortality among young adults.
“As a group, [young adults] have experienced expensive housing markets and a work context in which work hours have grown in many occupations, both of which can make it more difficult to lead healthy lifestyles,” Wrigley-Field said.
Because young people increasingly find themselves forced to work long hours to afford housing, they have less time, money or resources to look after themselves. As a result, they fall victim to physical and mental conditions that worsen their health and make it more likely they’ll die an early death.
Although the researchers note that the study does not explain the increase in excess mortality—they plan to look at explanation in detail next—the presence of so many different causes suggests the need to look at “big, systemic factors” in order to understand what’s happening.
По материалам: http://www.planet-today.com/2025/02/us-young-adult-mortality-skyrockets.html