Aug 19, 2019
Posted at 2:20 p.m. on August 19, 2019
The Brillion News
Life expectancy in Wisconsin has declined
slightly for the second straight year, mirroring a national trend and marking a
disturbing shift from the longstanding expectation that newborn babies could be
expected to live as long or longer than those born before them.
That’s according to a report
by the Wisconsin Policy Forum (WPF), an independent public policy study group.
Of particular concern are the
state’s rates of death due to alcohol, among black residents and people in
their 20s and 30s, and due to opioid drugs – especially in Milwaukee County.
The life expectancy for
babies born in Wisconsin
from 2015-17 was 80 years, down from 80.1 in 2014-16 and from 80.2 in 2013-15,
according to the state Department of Health Services.
Though slight, these consecutive decreases buck a longstanding trend and may reflect the deeper impact of several troubling issues facing the state.
For a complete report, see the August 22 print edition of The Brillion News