Drugs among causes as Wisconsin lifespans decline

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