According to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the life expectancy at birth for the state of Indiana was 74.6 years in 2021. This was less than the average life expectancy for the country as a whole, which was 76.4 (per CDC ). Life expectancy for men in Indiana was 71.8 years versus 77.5 years for women (via World Population Review ).
World Population Review explains that, on average, American men live 76.1 years, while women can expect to live about five years longer, with an average lifespan of 81.1 years. This same source states that Hawaii had the longest life expectancy in 2021 at 81.5 years, with women living to an average of 84.3 years. On the other hand, Mississippi had the shortest life expectancy, at 74.6 years. Men in the state had the shortest lifespan, with an average life expectancy of 71.4 years.
Several factors can influence your rate of aging, including genetics and lifestyle. However, it appears that while Indiana has made strides in improving certain aspects of its residents’ health, there have been other factors that have wiped out those gains, leading to an overall decline in life expectancy.
Substance-Abuse Deaths Led To A Decline In Life Expectency
According to reporting by the radio station WKDQ-FM , Indiana has seen progress in reducing deaths from its two leading causes of death, cancer and heart disease, with cancer deaths falling by around 14% and heart disease deaths declining by 10%. However, these improvements have been more than canceled out by a stark increase in substance abuse-related deaths, which have risen by over twofold within a decade, reaching a death rate of 41.0 per 100,000 people in 2021 (per CDC)…