U.S. Life Expectancy Declines for the First Time in 20 Years

Life expectancy in the United States declined by a tenth of a year in 2015 from the year prior to hit 78.8, according to new government data.

The data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the ten leading causes of death remained consistent between 2014 and 2015. Still, death rates for eight of those ten causes of death increased significantly, including heart disease, accidental injuries, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Heart disease alone kills more than 600,000 people, according to the CDC.

The last decline occurred in the 1990s amidst the AIDS crisis that eventually killed nearly 700,000 people in the U.S. since the 1980s.