Death rate for middle-aged white Americans increases: study

The mortality rate for white men and women living in the United States between the ages of 45 and 54 saw a "marked increase" between 1999 and 2013.

According to a surprising new analysis released lately, suicides and drug overdoses contributed to the increase.

"No other rich country saw a similar turnaround," said Angus Deaton, a professor of economics at Princeton University who conducted the research with his wife, Anne Case, another Princeton economist.

Deaton and Case warn that today's middle-aged Americans could age into Medicare in worse health than the nation's current elderly, putting an increased strain on the American health care system.

By Ruchie Singh

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

Death rate for middle-aged white Americans increases: study

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