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New Yorkers’ life expectancy decreased by more than 4 years after COVID-19 pandemic: study
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Apr 7, 2023
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By
Catalina Gonella
Published Apr 7, 2023
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The COVID-19 pandemic shortened average life expectancy for New Yorkers by more than four years, hitting the city’s minority populations hardest, according to a report released on Friday.
The study by the city’s health department looked at trends in births and deaths in New York City during 2020, the year when COVID-19 arrived.
The analysis found that from 2019 to 2020, life expectancy in New York City fell to 78 years — a staggering 4.6 year drop.
The mortality rate in 2020 was 241.3 deaths per 100,000 New Yorkers, according to the health department. A rise in unintentional drug overdoses also played a role in the 42.2% increase in deaths in 2020 over the year before.
“The pain and trauma experienced by our city is still very real to so many of us,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan in a statement. “New Yorkers’ lifespans are falling, on top of years of relative flattening before COVID, and that cannot continue.”
The study highlighted how the pandemic exacerbated health inequities in the city. Black New Yorkers saw an ever bigger drop in life expectancy – down 5.5 years from 2019 and falling to 73 years. For Latinos, life expectancy dropped by six years, down to 77.3. For white people, the drop in life expectancy was three years.
The study also found that Black New Yorkers had the highest rate of drug-related deaths. New Yorkers between the ages of 55 and 64 were the age group most affected by the overdose deaths.
The health department said the data would inform its priorities going forward, and the agency is committed to addressing the persistence of racial and neighborhood inequities.
“It is the great challenge of our time, our city, and our department to lay out an agenda for the next era of public health, to reverse these trends, and set us out on a new path where all New Yorkers can lead healthier, longer lives,” Vasan said.
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Catalina Gonella
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