14 Adult Mortality

Abstract

Demographers play a vital role in documenting and explaining adult mortality patterns and trends so that policymakers have a credible scientific base from which to improve health and increase life expectancy. Consistent with that role, this chapter reviews the complex set of demographic, socioeconomic, social, behavioral, geographic, environmental, and biological factors that shape adult mortality patterns, risks, and causes, with a geographic focus on the United States. While the United States has witnessed remarkable declines in adult mortality over the past century, it has experienced increases in middle-aged mortality over the past several years and ranks poorly relative to other high-income countries. Given the key points made in this chapter, we conclude that future reductions in U.S. adult mortality rates will depend upon reductions in obesity, tobacco consumption, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, physical inactivity, and racial and socioeconomic inequality.