Life expectancy for U.S. men shrank by more than two years because of COVID-19, researchers say

COVID-19 caused the biggest jump in international mortality rates since World War II, with U.S. men seeing their life expectancy drop by 2.2 years, according to new study from Oxford University. That was the biggest decline among males in 29 countries examined by researchers at the British university. 

Life expectancy fell in 27 countries in 2020 as the coronavirus spread, with 11 nations seeing a drop of more than one year for men and eight countries experiencing the same for women, Oxford found. American men had the biggest decline, followed by Lithuanian men, with a decline of 1.7 years. 

Although the study didn't analyze life expectancy by race and income, the researchers noted that U.S. men may have experienced a steeper drop in their expected lifespan due to higher rates of certain medical conditions than men in Europe, as well as uneven access to health care and structural issues like racism. Experts have long linked such disadvantages to rising inequality in the U.S.