Alaska’s life-expectancy drop was biggest among all states in pandemic year of 2021, CDC says

Providence Alaska Medical Center successful Anchorage. (Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)

Alaska had nan biggest diminution successful mean life expectancy of each U.S. states successful 2021, a twelvemonth erstwhile wellness outcomes were heavy influenced by nan COVID-19 pandemic, according to a caller national report.

Alaska’s life expectancy successful 2021 was 74.5 years, down from nan mean of 76.6 years successful 2020, according to nan study from nan U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall, U.S. life expectancy declined by 0.6 years successful that time, mostly because of nan COVID-19 pandemic and increases successful supplier overdose deaths and different unintentional injuries, nan CDC study said. Alaska was among 39 states pinch declines successful life expectancy from 2020 to 2021, nan study said.

The CDC estimates life expectancy around nan federation based connected information from nan National Center for Health Statistics.

The state-by-state study did not specify why Alaska’s driblet successful life expectancy was truthful large successful 2021. But nan timing of COVID-19 deaths successful nan authorities was different from that successful nan remainder of nan nation.

Those deaths in peaked successful Alaska in precocious 2021, later than nan highest that deed the United States arsenic a whole, according to information compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Nationally, overmuch of nan decease toll occurred successful 2020, though location were different waves of precocious decease tolls starting successful 2021, according to nan university’s data.

Since 2021, Alaska life expectancies person ticked up, though done 2023 nan mean remained little than that successful pre-pandemic years, authorities statistic show.

In 2022, nan mean life expectancy successful nan state increased to 76.8 years, according to the Alaska Vital Statistics 2022 Annual Report released past October by nan authorities Department of Health.

The 2023 yearly study is still being prepared. Preliminary accusation shows that Alaskans’ mean life expectancy accrued again past year, to 77.2 years, Richard Raines, a Department of Health investigation analyst, said by email. That was still beneath nan 2019 mean of 78.5 years.

State numbers tin alteration somewhat from nan CDC numbers because of different methodologies, Raines noted.

Another facet beyond COVID-19 mightiness person helped thrust Alaska’s large driblet successful life expectancy successful 2021, Raines said.

“While we can’t opportunity definitively why life expectancy estimates for Alaska dropped much than different states successful 2021, it is worthy noting that Alaska experiences comparatively precocious rates of accidental supplier poisoning (overdose) death,” he said by email.

The effect of COVID-19 lessened successful Alaska aft 2021, authorities statistic show. The illness was classed 4th among causes of decease successful nan authorities successful 2022, according to nan yearly report, down from the No. 3 spot successful 2021. The starring causes successful some years were crab and bosom disease, while accidental deaths — which see those from car crashes and overdoses — were nan third-highest successful 2022.

While Alaska showed nan biggest life-expectancy driblet that year, it did not rank astatine nan bottommost among states overall, according to nan report. That favoritism belonged to Mississippi, which had a life expectancy of 70.9 years successful 2021, nan study said. Hawaii had nan highest life expectancy successful 2021, astatine 79.9 years, nan study said. Alaska that twelvemonth classed 39th among each 50 states and nan District of Columbia.