Life expectancy in US on the decline

(CNN) Life expectancy in the US has dropped for the second consecutive year in 2021, falling to the lowest it has been since 1996, according to data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. 

Covid-19 was a major contributor to the decline in life expectancy, which is now nearly two and a half years shorter than it was at the start of the pandemic. after a drop of 1.8 years in 2020, another cut of 0.6 years last year brought us life expectancy down to 76.4 years in 2021.

Heart disease remained a leading cause of death, followed by cancer. About half of all deaths last year were from these three causes.

Drug overdose deaths also increased significantly throughout the pandemic, reaching record levels in 2021. nearly 107,000 people died of a drug overdose in 2021, driving the age-adjusted death rate for overdoses up more than 14% in one year and 50% over the past two years.