Hispanic, Black Americans see disproportionate life expectancy drop: study

NEW YORK -- Life expectancy declines recorded in 2020 as the United States battled its first year of the coronavirus pandemic were "experienced disproportionately" among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black Americans, according to a study published by US monthly medical journal JAMA Network Open.

Preliminary data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found racial and ethnic disparities in declines during the first year of the pandemic, with the average gap between white and Black Americans expanding to about six years, said Newsweek in its report of the study, which was published on Wednesday.

While the average life expectancy of non-Hispanic white Americans dropped by about 1.38 years in 2020, data for Hispanic Americans showed a drop of 3.7 years while data for non-Hispanic Black Americans showed a drop of 3.22 years, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the JAMA study's review of life expectancy drops from 2019 to 2020 in 22 high-income countries found the US decline was largest at an average of 1.87 years. The 21 other high-income nations had an average decrease of about 0.58 years, said the report.

Earlier studies have attributed the pandemic to steeper drops in life expectancy averages than normal. One study released last year by researchers at Oxford University said COVID-19 was to blame for the largest life expectancy decline since World War II, it added.