Why Are Death and Disability Rising Among Young Americans?

I wonder. Why Are Death and Disability Rising Among Young Americans? | Opinion

America's labor force is facing a crisis, and no one knows exactly why. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of American adults considered unable to work grew by more than 3.5 million since January 2020, with 1.5 million added just in the first nine months of this year.

That's a concerning 12 percent hike. But among the labor force, in particular, the disability number grew an astonishing 33 percent since January 2020. Over the same time period, America has seen what one insurance insider calls an "open secret" of increased excess deaths—the number of people dying above what is expected. These shocking developments are surely contributing to ongoing labor shortages. People are leaving work at younger ages, in greater numbers, and from diseases seen mostly in later life.

So what happened in early 2020 that could account for increased deaths and disability? Anyone?

Consider that 25 percent more 15-to-19-year-olds than expected—about a thousand young people—died in the first five months of 2023, according to an analysis of federal data. They are among 87,000 additional people who died in those months. Compared to pre-pandemic numbers, those Americans should still be alive.

To be sure, some excess deaths are probably attributable to delays in medical attention, though I would expect excess cancer deaths to be concentrated in older populations. (I could be wrong; I'm not an actuary.) Drug overdoses have been growing in younger populations for at least a decade.

Some of the increase is attributable to liver disease, kidney disease, and stroke. It is almost as if the population has been poisoned, on encountered something that causes blood clots. Of course that can't be the case.

Hat tip to Mary Pat Campbell.