Prof. Elizabeth Wrigley-Field Discusses Excess Deaths

Recently published research by Prof. Wrigley-Field and her colleagues found that between 1980 and 2023 the total number of US excess deaths equaled 14.7 million. Between 2010 and 2023 excess deaths ranged between 120% and 130% higher compared to other HIC (High Income Countries). Possibly more disturbing the authors found US excess deaths were moreover among working-age adults, for example, in 2023 excess deaths among US adults aged 25-44 were 2.6 times higher than in other HIC. That same year excess deaths remarkably made up almost 23% of all deaths and 46% of excess deaths were among people younger than 65 years. The causes of excess deaths since 1980 have on balance largely been the result of preventable cardiometabolic causes and drug overdoses. About these findings, Prof Wrigley-Field’s coauthor, Prof. Jacob Bor, commented, “if the US simply performed at the average of our peers, one out of every two US deaths under 65 years is likely avoidable. Our failure to address this is a national scandal.”

Prof. Wrigley-Fields writings discussed during this podcast are at:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2834281

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2829783

https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-soc-031021-105213

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