Escaping Despair: Understanding the Decline in US Life Expectancy

Aug. 25, 2021—The rise in midlife mortality in the United States has been attributed to causes of death including suicide, poisoning/overdose, and alcohol-related liver disease. These cluster of causes, regarded as the deaths of despair, are postulated to reflect an underlying feeling of hopelessness and resulting self-destructive behaviors. However, there is limited research testing whether individual feelings...

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