According to a study, completed by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Urban Institute, a suicide rate that went up 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, and abuse of drugs and alcohol have contributed largely to the decline.
"We are seeing an alarming increase in deaths from substance abuse and despair," Steven Woolf, a co-author of the report, told USA Today.
The study shows one of the richest countries in the world falling behind other industrialized nations in terms of health and life expectancy, even as officials continue to further the narrative of the U.S. as "exceptional."
With average American life expectancy at 78.6 years in 2016—down .1 years from the year before.
"It may not sound like much, but the alarming story is not the amount of the decrease but that the increase has ended," said Woolf.
Americans are expected to live 1.5 fewer years than people in other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations, including the U.K., Canada, France, and 31 others. In 1960, the U.S. had the highest life expectancy on Earth, 2.4 times higher than the rest of the OECD.
The study notes, the 'American dream' is increasingly out of reach, as social mobility declines and fewer children face a better future than their parents."
"In theory, policy makers jolted by the shortening lifespan of Americans would hasten to correct these conditions," reads the study. "They would promote education, boost support for children and families, increase wages and economic opportunity for the working class, invest in distressed communities, and strengthen healthcare and behavioral health systems. But the pro-business policy agenda favored by elected officials rarely prioritizes these needs. On the contrary, recent legislation and regulations may prolong or intensify the economic burden on the middle class and weaken access to healthcare and safety net programs."
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