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Compared with 17 other high-income countries, the United States had higher mortality rates from 1999–2022—adding up to 12.7 million excess deaths. Researchers found that annual excess deaths in the United States rose from 346,166 to 905,159 over the study period, as published in JAMA Network Open. By 2022, all-cause mortality rates were 1.38 times as high in the United States as in comparison countries. Circulatory diseases (eg, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke) were the leading contributor, accounting for 358,573 excess deaths (40%), followed by mental and nervous system disorders (20%) and diabetes, kidney, and metabolic disease (13%). Drug poisonings, alcohol-related deaths, and suicide collectively caused 131,151 excess deaths in 2022 and were responsible for nearly one-quarter of the increase in excess mortality. The comparison countries included: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Clinical implications: Authors note that the most prevalent causes of excess deaths represent the greatest opportunity for improvement: Circulatory diseases (1.63 times higher than other countries) and metabolic diseases (2.25 times as high as in other countries) together accounted for over half of excess deaths. Clinical efforts to diagnose and treat these diseases could go a long way in improving health. Read more from the JUCM archive: When Bell Palsy Is Actually a Stroke: A Case Report