Why The Increasing Mortality Rate Among Less-Educated, Middle Age White Americans?

Question

It seems this group of white Americans, age 45-54 and with no more than a high school education, has not been gaining life expectancy since 1998. There don't seem to be solid answers as to why, and it's not happening in other wealthy countries. Speculations include increased drug use and suicide.

On this graph, it's the dotted line for that demographic of people; I keep coming upon more bad news about the USA, and it's discouraging!

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/02/death-rate-middle-aged-white-americans-aids

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34714842

Answer 1

Again I have to agree here with Tink. After dealing with a lot of people this age on websites? I can see some of their despair in life. With the way the world is going and the U.S. in particular? I think drug and alcohol use plays a large part in this.

Angela Anthony's younger sister just recently committed suicide and she really doesn't know why other than she was just totally disgusted with her present life.

I think a lot of people of this age group just feel they have nothing to look forward too as they get older. No retirement or possibly no country left to live in.

Good question that I will ponder throughout the day.

By the way, W. Virginia was polled to be the unhappiest state in the Union while California was number three on the happiest list.

Comments

A thoughtful answer, thank you Rooster. My heart goes out to Angela...I have been missing her here on SOLVED.

Answer 2

Despair over lost jobs and the perfectly obvious insensitivity of the rich political elites may have something to do with it.

Comments

O'Tink, without direct evidence as to what is going on, what you said seems to be the best guess that anyone has come up with. Here is what I saw in one article; "those currently in midlife may be a ‘lost generation’ whose future is less bright than those who preceded them.”

As for this clip from Hillary Clinton, she seems to be saying that the people of West Virginia ought to be grateful that she even came there at all.

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@ Virginia,

Rarely did Hillary's phoniness show through more clearly. Bad performance on her part.

Answer 3

Yes, Virginia, we heard about the increasing job precarity for less skilled and even more qualified workers.

The same happens everywhere, and the gap between rich and poor is growing:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32824770

Performance pressure, low salaries, unhealthy work conditions, cheap labour, outsourcing, the disappearance of small and middle-sized, local enterprises, productions, artisanry, business and whole profession branches, swallowed by mass production sites and big profit corporations, and rising unemployment figures have put whole sectors like productions, services, transportation, technologies, science, education, etc., and especially less skilled and also qualified workers under extreme stress, and with that, mental and physical health, and a growing number of working poor and unemployed cannot afford healthcare and are indebted. Also big production sites were restructured, sold or closed down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_Detroit

http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/01/news/economy/america-poor-in-debt/index.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2017/03/14/healthcare-changes-freedom-to-pass-on-unaffordable-insurance/#3364ac1119e3

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/jan/23/food-speculation-banks-hunger-poverty

http://billmoyers.com/story/whats-killing-american-middle-class/

As to the pharmaceutics and agrochemistry, many widely sold products are hazardous:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_pharmaceuticals_and_personal_care_products

https://www.mcgill.ca/pfss/files/pfss/agrochemicals_and_their_impact_on_human_health.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_pesticides

and illegal business, such as criminal drug cartels, sweat shops, prostitution rings, etc., have added to rising insecurity and violence at all levels. As to the problems with alcohol abuse, they persist at all levels of society.

https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs38/38661/drugImpact.htm

http://www.covenanteyes.com/2011/09/07/the-connections-between-pornography-and-sex-trafficking/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweatshop

http://www.ias.org.uk/uploads/IAS%20report%20Alcohol%20domestic%20abuse%20and%20sexual%20assault.pdf