View the Latest: Mortality
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What Drives Differences in Life Expectancy between the U.S. and Comparable Countries?
Issue BriefThis analysis compares 2021 data about deaths in the U.S. and 11 other large, wealthy countries by age and cause to understand the primary drivers of the longevity gap between the U.S. and the comparable countries. It finds that the primary reasons for the gap in 2021 were chronic disease, COVID-19 and substance use disorders.
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How Does U.S. Life Expectancy Compare to Other Countries?
FeatureThis chart collection examines how life expectancy in the U.S. compares to that of other similarly large and wealthy countries. Between 2019 and 2022, the U.S. experienced a sharper decline and a slower rebound in life expectancy than peer countries, on average, due to increased mortality and premature death rates in the U.S. from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, life expectancy in the U.S. returned to pre-pandemic levels, but remains lower than that of comparable countries.
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U.S. Has the Highest Rate of Gun Deaths for Children and Teens Among Peer Countries
News ReleaseFirearms were responsible for 20 percent of all child and teen deaths in the U.S. for both 2020 and 2021, compared to an average of less than 2 percent in similarly large and wealthy nations, according to a new KFF analysis.
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Child and Teen Firearm Mortality in the U.S. and Peer Countries
Issue BriefFirearms were responsible for 20 percent of all child and teen deaths in the U.S. for both 2020 and 2021, compared to an average of less than 2 percent in similarly large and wealthy nations. This puts the U.S. far ahead of peer nations in child and teen firearm deaths.
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Premature Mortality During COVID-19 in the U.S. and Peer Countries
Issue BriefThis analysis finds that the U.S. had the highest rate of premature deaths amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021 among a group of 12 large, wealthy peer countries. The U.S. on average had more than two times the average years of life lost per 100,000 people as the United Kingdom, the country with the next highest rate.
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Racial Disparities in Premature Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Issue BriefThis analysis examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by race and ethnicity through the lens of premature mortality, using the measures of premature mortality rate and years of life lost among excess deaths that occurred during the pandemic.
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Americans’ Experiences With Gun-Related Violence, Injuries, And Deaths
FeatureThis survey examines Americans’ experiences with gun-related incidents such as being threatened with a gun, having a family member killed by a gun, or witnessing someone being shot. The survey also explores worries about gun violence, precautions people report taking to protect their families, how gun owners say they store their guns, and discussions about guns with health care providers.
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One in Five Adults Say They’ve Had a Family Member Killed by a Gun, Including Suicide, and One in Six Have Witnessed a Shooting; Among Black Adults, a Third Have Experienced Each
News ReleaseExperiences with gun-related incidents are common across the country, with about one in five adults saying that they have personally been threatened with a gun (21%) or had a family member killed by a gun, including by suicide (19%), finds a new KFF survey about Americans’ experiences with gun-related violence and incidents.
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Why Do Vaccinated People Represent Most COVID-19 Deaths Right Now?
Policy WatchThis post explores why the share of COVID-19 deaths among those who are vaccinated has risen, Factors include a rising share of the population that is vaccinated, waning immune protection and low uptake of boosters, and changes in immunity among the unvaccinated.