Death Rates Rising for Middle Age Whites with Little Education

 

A new study from Princeton University economists¹ says white middle-aged² Americans without college educations are dying at higher rates.

Professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton wrote the study.

It finds that men and women older than 45 but younger than retirement³ age are dying from what one expert calls "deaths of despair." These include deaths from suicide, drug overdose or alcohol-related diseases.

They say this is caused by the loss of middle-income jobs for those without a college degree.

The economists also say that fewer job opportunities have created other problems for this group. The researchers say they are more likely than those with college degrees to be unemployed⁴, unmarried or suffer from poor health.

"This is a story of the collapse⁵ of the white working class," Deaton said in an interview. "The labor⁶ market has very much turned against them."

The study continues research in 2015 that first documented an increase in deaths among middle-aged whites.

A sharp increase in “deaths of despair”

Case and Deaton found that since 1999, white men and white women ages 45 through 54 have suffered from a sharp increase in "deaths of despair." These include suicides, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related deaths, such as liver failure.

Case and Deaton say in their study that there is a relationship between rising death rates and changes in the job market since the 1970s.

They said that men without college degrees are less likely to receive better pay over time, a trend "consistent with men moving to lower and lower skilled jobs."

Other research has found that Americans with only high school educations are less likely to get married or buy a home. They are also more likely to get divorced if they do marry the study says.

"It's not just their careers that have gone down the tubes, but their marriage prospects⁷, their ability to raise children," said Deaton.

"That's the kind of thing that can lead people to despair."

Angus Deaton won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2015 for using surveys to study how people spend their money and to learn more about their behavior.

White Americans are the most affected⁸

The issues identified by Case and Deaton may be causing a change in the trend of improving life expectancies⁹. However, the researchers say it is not clear why these problems are affecting whites more than African-Americans or Hispanics.

Case and Deaton note that many Hispanics are in a much better situation than their parents or grandparents, who were born in another country. This could create a greater sense of optimism.

The professors also added that African-Americans may have become more resilient to economic difficulties because they have a long history of suffering problems in the job market.

The researchers also noted¹⁰ that a life expectancy¹¹ division among people with different education levels is growing. While death rates for middle-aged whites without a college degree are rising, the Princeton professors say the rates for whites with a college education are falling.

These trends, the researchers say, are found across the United States. West Virginia and Kentucky are reportedly most affected.

However, areas such as the state of Maine, the city of Baltimore and eastern Washington state also appear to show the trends identified in the study.

The research also found these trends exist in rural areas, in small cities and in some large urban areas.

Case and Deaton say death rates for middle-aged people in Europe with limited education are falling. And they add that this is the case in most countries.

Case and Deaton also note that government programs to help people with disabilities are not responsible for the increase in middle-aged deaths. Some of these programs, the researchers say, are permitting more Americans to stop working.

They say that social programs in Europe usually provide more benefits than the ones in the U.S. And the researchers say Europe has not seen a similar increase in middle-aged deaths.

Case and Deaton say that changing these trends could take years. To help prevent middle-aged deaths, they say, doctors should cut back on providing opium-based pain drugs to patients.

The study was published in Proceedings¹² of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. It also appears on the website of The Brookings Institution, a public policy organization.

Words in This Story

demographic - n. the qualities such as age, sex, and income of a specific group of people?

despair - n. the feeling of no longer having any hope?

epidemic¹³ - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people?

gone down the tubes - to fail completely

overdose - n. an amount of a drug or medicine that is too much and usually dangerous?

resilient - adj. able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens?

1 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 expectancies   

期待，期望( expectancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each of us came with his own expectancies. 我们每个人都有自己的希望。
• In fact, modern lifestyles are actually exacerbating the gap between male and female life expectancies. 实际上，现代生活方式确实加大了男女寿命差别的鸿沟。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

12 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

13 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。