Americans born after 1970 are dying faster than their parents did, data shows.New analysis from Tufts University reveals that Gen Xers and millennials are failing to outlive their predecessors, dying at higher rates from common chronic illnesses and external causes than previous generations did when they were the same age.Data shows that U.S.life expectancy has steadily improved for most of the 20th century, meaning each generation generally lived longer than the one before it.RARE CANCER DIAGNOSES SURGE DRAMATICALLY AMONG MILLENNIALS AND GEN XHowever, that changed starting with individuals born in the 1950s.
While Americans born in the 1940s experienced steadily improving survival rates at every stage of life, those born in the 1950s saw that progress slow or reverse.The downward trend has continued with each subsequent generation, with the biggest change seen in Americans born after 1970.While Americans born in the 1940s experienced steadily improving survival rates at every stage of life, those born in the 1950s saw that progress slow or reverse.(iStock)The research, which tracks 45 years of American mortality data from 1979 to 2019, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, according to a Tufts press release.Between the ages of 30 and 49, Americans born after 1970 experience higher death rates from heart disease, cancer and external causes (such as drug overdoses, suicide, homicides and traffic accidents) compared to older generations when they were in that same age bracket.SECRETS OF LONGEVITY FROM THE WORLD'S 'BLUE ZONES'Because the study focused on mapping patterns rather than conducting clinical trials, researchers say it can’t point to a single definitive cause for the decline.However, the study points out two distinct issues affecting American life expectancy.
The first is generational decline, meaning that newer generations are entering middle age while carrying higher risk factors than their predecessors.Part of the declin...