Early adult deaths rising in US: COVID-19, drug overdoses major causes

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A study done by the University of Minnesota (U of M) found that early adult deaths are on the rise in the U.S., with COVID-19 and drug overdoses being the main causes. 

Early adult deaths on the rise

By the numbers:

Researchers at the U of M and Boston University looked at the death rates between 1999-2023. 

According to the new research, the death rates for adults aged 25-44 had a sharp increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, and remained "higher than expected" after the pandemic. 

The increased death rates during the pandemic heightened an already negative trend for death rates for early adults, which began in 2010. Because of that, the death rates for early adults in 2023 were about 70% higher than they could have been if the death rates hadn't started to increase 10 years before the pandemic, researchers found. 

The study found that for early adults during the core pandemic years, 2019-2021, the death rate jumped. The death rate remained 20% higher in 2023 compared to 2019. 

Excess morality rate for Americans aged 25-44 since 2011. Credit: University of Minnesota (Supplied)

Drug-related deaths increase among early adults

What they're saying:

Researchers say drug-related deaths are the "single largest" cause of excess deaths in 2023 in the U.S., compared with what the rates could have been if earlier trends continued. 

Other natural causes, like certain cardiovascular diseases or metabolic abnormalities, were a contributing cause to the higher-than-normal death rate in 2023. 

"The rise in opiate deaths has been devastating for Americans in early and middle adulthood," said Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, lead author and an associate professor in the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts and Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation. "What we didn't expect is how many different causes of death have really grown for these early adults. It's drug and alcohol deaths, but it's also car collisions, it's circulatory and metabolic diseases — causes that are very different from each other. That tells us this isn't one simple problem to fix, but something broader." 

Transportation deaths were also a significant cause of the increased death rate. 

"Our findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive policies to address the structural factors driving worsening health among recent generations of young adults," said author Andrew Stokes of Boston University. "Solutions may include expanding access to nutritious foods, strengthening social services and increasing regulation of industries that affect public health."