Callum Jones
A recently published study has detailed a worrying trend when it comes to life expectancy of Gen X and Millennials.
As of 2024, life expectancy at birth is roughly 79 years old, with women expected to live to around 81, and men close to 76 years of age.
That figure has fluctuated in recent years following the Covid-19 pandemic, but due to new research, a new health pattern has been discovered.
To put it simply, people that are born between the years of 1970 and 1985 are experiencing worse mortality rates compared to those in the generations that came before them.
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A team of scientists looked into records surrounding cause-of-deaths between 1979 and 2023, before digging into the underlying causes for such a trend.
While those born prior to the 1960s were showing pretty standard life expectancies, the worrying trend began come the 1970s.
Leah Abrams, from Tufts University, explained: "We see concerning trends for those born from around 1970 to 1985 – the late Gen Xers and elder Millennials. These cohorts are trending worse than their predecessors in all-cause mortality; deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer, especially colon cancer; and external causes."
The lead author on the study added: "Baby Boomers born between 1950 and 1959 mark a turning point. Before that group, each successive birth cohort seemed to have lower mortality than the one before it.
"This group has experienced worse outcomes than the generations before them. And the generations that followed them had mortality improvements that weren’t as strong as prior generations had."
Experts found that external factors such as drug overdoses, car accidents and suicides have likely contributed to the earlier deaths, though they are also physical health conditions scientists looked into.
They discovered an increase in deaths caused by colon cancer, which Abrams stated is extremely concerning.
She added: "Greater cancer prevalence can indicate that we’re simply catching cancer sooner; if you do more screenings at younger ages, more younger people will be diagnosed. But our study shows increased mortality, and it’s never good to have more deaths at young ages. This is a genuinely alarming trend."
Then there's also cardiovascular disease, with experts finding an increase in such-related deaths amongst Gen X and Millennials compared to previous generations.
While these illnesses 'tend to be relatively rare in individuals who are in their 30s and 40s', Abrams added: "If these cohorts are showing worse mortality trends already, what’s going to happen when they’re in their 60s if nothing gets turned around? That’s one of the looming implications of these findings."
The full study has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.