---
title: "The Life Expectancy for American Men Keeps Falling"
description: "The life expectancy for American men has steadily dropped for several years. Meanwhile, deaths from drug overdose have nearly doubled."
date: "2019-11-01"
modified: "2019-11-01"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/life-expectancy-american-men-keeps-falling"
categories:
  - "Developments"
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "health"
  - "life expectancy"
  - "medicine"
---

# The Life Expectancy for American Men Keeps Falling

![The life expectancy for American men has steadily dropped for several years. Meanwhile, deaths from drug overdose have nearly doubled.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/life-expectancy-american-men-keeps-falling.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

The life expectancy of American men appears to have peaked, and is now steadily declining.

The difference is modest — the average life expectancy declined a total of about four months since 2014, [according to *CBS News*](<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/life-expectancy-for-american-men-drops-for-a-third-year/>). But while the actual difference is small, the fact that it's [declined every year](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/us-life-expectancy-birth-drops-second-consecutive-year>) between 2014 and 2017 — the latest year for which data is available — is a troubling sign.

According to *CBS*, the rising mortality rate is explained in part by rising death rates from drug overdoses, deaths by suicide, and alcohol-related diseases like cirrhosis.

The life expectancy change isn't hitting everyone equally — previous research suggests college graduates are [actually living longer](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/life-expectancy-educated-americans>) than before.

And because some people are living longer, the small shift in the life expectancy actually masks the scale of the problem. *CBS* reports that the percent of adult American men who die from drug overdose doubled over the ten years between 2007 and 2017.

The distinction is likely linked to class — earning a degree doesn't magically give anyone a clean bill of health. Because American health care can be prohibitively expensive, *CBS* reports, an increasing number of poor Americans are delaying or skipping medical checkups and treatments.

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)