根據美國疾病防治中心（CDC）國家健康統計中心（National Center for Health Statistics）的數據，美國人的預期壽命連續第二年出現了下降。

美國人新一年的平均預期壽命是78.7歲，落后于其他發達國家居民，比起經濟發展與合作組織（Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development）成員國家80.3歲的居民平均水平也短了一年半。該組織是一個包括了加拿大、德國、墨西哥、法國、日本和英國在內的發達國家團體。

20世紀60年代，美國曾在居民預期壽命上領先全球，如今它為何在這個國民健康的指標上落后了這么多呢？

《英國醫學雜志》（BMJ）新發布的一篇研究報告探討了預期壽命下降的一個廣泛的原因：絕望。

弗吉尼亞聯邦大學（Virginia Commonwealth University）急救醫學助理教授、本報告的共同作者之一史蒂文·伍爾夫表示：“我們發現藥物濫用和絕望致死的情況出現了令人擔憂的增加。”

他補充道，比起預期壽命的減少幅度，美國人的藥物成癮和情感幸福指數的下降更加值得擔心。它們的嚴重程度足以拉低國家的人均壽命。

研究談到了鴉片類藥物的流行，文中引用疾病防治中心去年的報告稱，去年因藥量過多導致的死亡數同比增加了21%，而2000年至2014年，鴉片類藥物致死的情況增加了137%，這些都是預期壽命降低的直接原因。

伍爾夫稱，毒品和酒精導致的尤其是美國白人死亡數的增加，原因“不明、復雜，無法單純用鴉片類藥物來解釋”。

根據政府數據，美國每天平均有115人死于鴉片類藥物使用過量，另有6人死于酗酒，這是35年來的最高值。

報告還強調了自殺率的提高，從1999年至2014年，自殺率提高了24%，另外從肥胖到艾滋病在內的各種健康問題也對美國人的壽命產生了負面影響。

作者指出，那些被政客認為有損于生活質量的問題的解決方案，在決策中往往遭到否決，而這種不作為最終帶來的影響，卻是由美國人民承受的。

作者寫道：“結局很悲慘：不僅是死亡人數和患病人數會增加，此外還會導致醫療成本水漲船高，勞動力健康水平降低，經濟競爭力減弱。后幾代人可能會為此付出昂貴的代價。”（財富中文網）

譯者：嚴匡正?

Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped for the second year in a row, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The new average life expectancy for Americans is 78.7 years, which puts the U.S. behind other developed nations and 1.5 years lower than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average life expectancy of 80.3. The OECD is a group of developed countries that includes Canada, Germany, Mexico, France, Japan, and the U.K.

So why has the U.S., a global leader in the length of life for its citizens in the 1960s, fallen so far in this metric for quality of the nation’s health?

A new study published in the BMJ journal looked into a broader cause behind the decline: despair.

“We are seeing an alarming increase in deaths from substance abuse and despair,” said Steven Woolf, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University and co-author of the report.

He added that the amount of the decrease in life expectancy is actually less alarming than the fact that addiction and a decline in the emotional wellbeing of Americans have been significant enough to drag down the country’s average length of life.

The research points to the opioid epidemic, backing up a CDC report from last year that linked the drop directly to a 21% increase in overdose deaths from the year before and cited a 137% increase in opioid-related deaths between 2000 and 2014.

The increase in deaths caused by drugs and alcohol, particularly among white Americans, is “unclear, complex, and not explained by opioids alone,” according to Woolf.

On average, 115 people in the U.S. die each day from an opioid overdose, and six Americans per day are dying from alcohol abuse—the highest rate in 35 years, according to federal data.

The report also highlights a rise in the suicide rate, which increased 24% between 1999 and 2014, as well as health conditions from diabetes to HIV/AIDS that are negatively impacting the lives of Americans.

The authors of the study point out that the solutions to problems politicians recognize as detrimental to the quality of life in the U.S. are often rejected when it comes down to policy making, and it’s American citizens who feel the impact of inaction.

“The consequences are dire: not only more deaths and illness but also escalating health care costs, a sicker workforce, and a less competitive economy,” the authors wrote. “Future generations may pay the greatest price.”