According to recent analyses from The Lancet, average life expectancy has climbed by more than 20 years since 1950, recovering even after the heavy toll of Covid-19.
But the same data reveals a stark exception: young people in many countries are dying at higher rates than they did a decade ago.
Lead researcher Christopher Murray argues that this reversal should prompt governments to reassess how health systems address risks facing today’s youth.
Addiction and inequality drive rising deaths
The sharpest increases are found in North and Latin America, where deaths linked to suicide, alcohol misuse and drug overdoses have risen significantly since 2011.
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Christopher Murray’s group points to opioids, particularly fentanyl, as a major factor.
Professor Dan Meyrowitsch of the University of Copenhagen explained that the opioid crisis barely existed thirty years ago, yet now claims tens of thousands of lives annually.
He noted that even tiny variations in fentanyl dosage can turn recreational use into a fatal overdose.
More than 600,000 people in the United States and Canada died from opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2020, according to a study published in The Lancet Commissions.
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Researchers say the impact is now large enough to shift global mortality patterns.
War, mental health and the risks ahead
A similar rise in youth deaths is seen in Eastern Europe, where mortality among teenagers and young adults has increased sharply since 2000.
Researchers link part of this trend to the war in Ukraine, which has intensified instability across the region.
Central Europe, meanwhile, has recorded higher death rates connected to mental illness and eating disorders.
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Globally, the burden of anxiety and depression has grown steadily over the past decade, though experts disagree on the underlying causes.
Dan Meyrowitsch warns that progress achieved in recent decades could stall as major donors, including the United States and several European governments, scale back international health funding.
Without sustained support, he argues, gains in global life expectancy may prove fragile.
Source: Forskning.no, The Lancet, and The Lancet Commissions.
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