With Death Rate Up, U.S. Life Expectancy Is Likely Down Again

Estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found death rates climbed for Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, flu, and pneumonia, and three other leading causes of death, according to the Associated Press . Little change was observed in the heart disease death rate, which is the highest death rate in the United States. Previously, steady annual declines in heart disease death rates offset rises in other causes, but experts say that offset is no longer happening. The overall death rate rose slightly less than 1 percent, to about 734 deaths per 100,000 people. The rate declined modestly in 2016 despite a record number of deaths that year, so its increase in 2017 is more reason to expect life expectancy will worsen, says Princeton University's Anne Case. 2016 was the second year consecutive year that American life expectancy fell, a rare event that had occurred only twice before in the last century. Meanwhile, the heart disease death rate fell by just 0.3 percent. Experts believe America's increasing obesity rate is likely a factor in the flattening of heart disease death rates. Meanwhile the cancer death rate has continued to drop, falling 2 percent from 2016. Death rates from HIV and blood infections also slipped.