Here’s something big going right: For the first time in four years, US life expectancy rose in 2018, reports the National Center for Health Statistics.
The preceding three-year drop was a huge sign of deep trouble: With medical science always advancing, rising death rates suggest serious social dysfunction. And even the small uptick, from 78.6 years in 2017 to 78.7, suggests the reverse.
For example, it seems the nation is starting to get a handle on the opioid epidemic, as overdose deaths fell 4.6 percent.
In all, six of the 10 top causes of death, including cancer and heart disease, declined.
The solid economic growth of the Trump era has surely been an underlying factor: Rising employment and wages mean less despair and more optimism, as well as reduced stress — all factors that boost health.
As Health Secretary Alex Azar notes, the fight against overdoses and disease is “far from finished,” but it’s far better to be winning than losing.