Health security

Temporary blip? US mortality rate goes up for 1st time in a decade

The US mortality rate increased for the first time in a decade last year, newly released preliminary federal figures show. Experts say this may widen the gap between the US and Europe, where death rates have been declining.

The US death rate rose to 729.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2015, up from 723.2 deaths in 2014, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Experts say the findings should be viewed with alarm, raising concern about American healthcare.

“We are not accustomed to seeing death rates increase on a national scale,” Andrew Fenelon, a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the New York Times.

“We’ve seen increases in mortality for some groups, but it is quite rare to see it for the whole population,” he added.

The researcher stressed that the rise in US mortality rates will drag the country behind its European allies.

“Many countries in Europe are witnessing declines in mortality, so the gap between the US and other countries is growing,”Fenelon noted.