What you should know
- Life expectancy in New York City fell to 78 years, a drop of 4.6 years, between 2019 and 2020, the city’s Health Department said Friday.
- The role of the pandemic in reducing life expectancy was far from equal. For Hispanic New Yorkers it fell six years to 77.3; for black New Yorkers, life expectancy fell by about five years, to 73. For white New Yorkers it was a three-year decline, to 80.1 years.
- According to a state dashboard, more than 200,000 New Yorkers died in 2020, with less than half of those deaths due to COVID-19 and heart disease, the latter being the leading cause of death. With this, the city’s 2020 death rate, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassed that of the 1918 flu, according to new data released this week.
NEW YORK – A new report from the New York City Department of Health revealed on friday As life expectancy for New Yorkers dropped in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed thousands of New Yorkers and sickened many more, some are still feeling the impacts of lasting symptoms.
Life expectancy in New York City overall, across demographics, fell to 78 years, or a 4.6-year drop, between 2019 and 2020, the department reported. That figure is largely due to the pandemic, but has also been driven by a rise in overdose deaths.
However, according to the report, the life expectancy of Hispanics in the Big Apple decreased the most compared to the other groups. Hispanic New Yorkers now have a life expectancy of up to 77.3 years, that is, 6 years less than in 2019, when the pandemic struck, the report explains.
Of the other groups, black New Yorkers have a life expectancy of 5.5 years less, that is, up to 73 years, and white New Yorkers up to 80.1 years, 3 years less than in 2019.
For its part, the city’s 2020 death rate, fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassed that of the infamous 1918 flu, according to new data released this week. The virus death rate in 2020 was about 12 times higher per 100,000 lives than in 1918.
The health data collected in the Annual Summary of Vital Statistics they offer a glimpse of the disastrous toll of the pandemic in 2020, as well as its lasting impact well into the future.
“This report is an important record of what we have been through and all that we lost. It also reflects the importance of this moment,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “New Yorkers’ life expectancy is declining, on top of the years of relative flattening before COVID-19, and that can’t continue.”
As stated, the virus was not the only factor in the city’s falling life expectancy.
Unintentional overdose deaths also played a disproportionate role among New Yorkers. Among a 42.2% increase in drug deaths between 2019 and 2020, the city found that the highest death rate was among black New Yorkers.
The leading cause of death in 2020 was overwhelmingly COVID-19, but it wasn’t always no. 1. The top two causes of death among New York City residents were COVID-19 and heart disease, with cancer ranking third among all racial/ethnic groups.
State health leaders call the drop in life expectancy between 2019 and 2020 one of the worst in decades. Before the pandemic, New York’s age-adjusted death rate had declined. After the start of the pandemic, the death rate increased 30% statewide and more than 50% in the city.
According to a state dashboard, more than 200,000 New Yorkers died in 2020, with less than half of those deaths due to COVID and heart disease, the latter being the No. 1 cause of death.
The inclusion of this data by the Department of Health informs the agency’s program priorities. DOHMH is committed to using the data to address persistent racial/ethnic and neighborhood inequities, as well as to inform future strategic decisions.
The Adams Administration has already released a plan to reduce overdose deaths 15 percent by 2025 and double the number of New Yorkers in mental health services. However, the Department of Health also recognizes that chronic diseases, such as heart disease, are claiming too many lives too soon. In the coming months, the City will develop and announce a plan to help New Yorkers live longer, healthier lives.
The Annual Summary of Vital Statistics, the New York City Department of Health’s annual report of births and deaths, is compiled by the agency’s Office of Vital Statistics. Its tables, graphs, and figures present health statistics by racial/ethnic group, gender, age, neighborhood poverty, community district, and municipality of residence. Mortality rates are adjusted for age when the adjustment facilitates comparisons over time and between geographic areas.
