Greater stress and anxiety resulting from economic insecurity may be at least partly to blame for the U.S. death rate that the government announced Dec. 8 has increased for the first time in a decade, says an expert on poverty and inequality at Washington University in St. Louis.
鈥淔or the first time since 1993, the overall life-expectancy rate in the United States last year actually went down, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,鈥� said Mark Rank, the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare at the Brown School.
鈥淭his was particularly true for those under the age of 65,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his news comes at the exact same time as empirical research from Stanford University demonstrates that over the past several decades, the American Dream has become harder to obtain.鈥�
Coincidence? Rank thinks not.
鈥淎s the recent election has exposed, more Americans are feeling the pressure of economic insecurity,鈥� said Rank, co-author of the influential 2014 book 鈥�.鈥�
鈥淭his economic insecurity has led to widespread anxiety within the population, with greater numbers of households struggling to stay afloat,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n short, the hopes and dreams for many ordinary Americans have been getting further and further out of reach.鈥�
Therefore, Rank contends, it is important to note that the recent fall in the life expectancy rate 鈥渙ccurred largely as a result of rising levels of heart disease, stroke, unintentional injuries and suicide.鈥�
鈥淎ll of these are closely associated with greater levels of stress and anxiety,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s stress and anxiety goes up, so too does the probability of one of these causes of death.鈥�
As a result of several well documented economic trends, including rising income and wealth inequality, America is quickly becoming a society of haves and have nots, Rank said.
鈥淥n the one hand, the haves are getting richer while their numbers are getting smaller,鈥� he said. 鈥淥n the other hand, the have nots are becoming poorer while their numbers are growing larger. The result may be the canary in the coal mine 鈥� overall life expectancy in the United States just went down.鈥�