First Rise in U.S. Death Rate in Years Surprises ExpertsHiggenbotham wrote: A similar thing is being seen in mortality rates in the US as previously discussed, and it is also happening for the first time after centuries of gains. I showed a map indicating that life is getting more difficult to sustain in about half the geography of the US. You mentioned that overall lifespans are increasing. This is true but for the first time in centuries we are seeing churning as the life gets sucked out of the periphery. Lifespan and mortality data is more of a lagging indicator but it is showing up nonetheless.
“We are not accustomed to seeing death rates increase on a national scale,” said Andrew Fenelon, a researcher at the C.D.C. who did not work on the paper. “We’ve seen increases in mortality for some groups, but it is quite rare to see it for the whole population.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/healt ... .html?_r=0
My 2 cents on this is that people in their 20s look a lot older and less healthy than people in their 20s did 30 years ago. It is really, really noticeable to me how unhealthy and stressed the younger generation looks. So I think this trend will continue.