美国人口预期寿命连续两年下降,因为越来越多的人死于吸毒过量

Life expectancy in the US is continuing to drop because of accidental deaths from the prescription and illicit opioids that are sweeping the country. This is the second year in a row that life expectancy declines in the US - to 78.6 years in 2016, down from 78.7 years in 2017 and 78.8 in 2017, according to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

由于处方药和非法阿片类药物导致的意外死亡事件正在攀升，导致美国人口预期寿命持续下降。美国国家卫生统计中心（NCHS）发布的一份报告称，这是美国人口预期寿命连续下滑的第二年--从2017年的78.8岁和2017年的78.7岁下降至2016年的78.6岁。

The leading causes of death in the US are still heart disease and cancer. But the opioid epidemic is taking a heavy toll - particularly on young and middle-aged Americans. Last year, over 63,000 people died of drug overdoses, a 21 percent increase from 2017. The last time life expectancy dropped for two years in a row was in 1962 and 1963, when a particularly bad flu season caused lots of deaths, according to the Washington Post.

导致美国人死亡的罪魁祸首仍旧是心脏病和癌症。但阿片类药物流行正在造成重大损失--尤其让中青年美国人付出了沉重代价。去年，63000多人死于吸毒过量，比2017年增长了21%。上一次美国人口预期寿命连续两年下滑还是在1962和1963年，当时流感特别严重，造成很多人患病去世，《华盛顿邮报》表示。

How long people can expect to live in a certain country is a sign of how healthy the overall population is; it's also considered a measure of quality of life. Advances in medicine and sanitation have boosted life expectancy around the world, especially in Africa. But compared to other developed nations, the United States is now an outlier.

一个国家的人口预期寿命是该国国民整体健康的一个标志，也被视作衡量生活质量的指标。医学和卫生的进步提高了全世界人口的预期寿命，尤其是非洲人的预期寿命。但与其他发达国家相比，美国却靠不上边。

In 2017, a study found that death rates in the US were rising for middle-aged white Americans because of suicide, drugs, and alcohol abuse. A study published in JAMA in September showed that from 1970 to 2000, life expectancy in the US rose by about 2.5 months every year, then slowed starting in 2000, and stopped altogether in 2017.

2017年，一项研究发现：由于自杀、吸毒和酗酒而死亡的中年美国白人人数正在飙升。九月份发表在JAMA期刊上的一项研究表明，从1970年至2000年，美国人口的预期寿命每年大约增长2个半月，2000年之后增长率减缓，并于2017年停止增长。

That's because deaths from drug overdoses skyrocketed: In 2000, more than 17,000 people died of drug overdoses. Today, that number has almost quadrupled. The latest data from the NCHS shows that, as a result of the opioid epidemic, death rates increased for younger age groups and decreased for older people since 2017. Life expectancy for women stayed the same, at 81.1 years (vs. 76.1 years for men).

这是因为吸毒过量而死的人数激增，在2000年，17000多人死于吸毒过量。今天，这一数字几乎翻了两翻。美国国家卫生统计中心的最新数据表明，由于阿片类药物流行，因此2017年以来，年轻人死亡率上升，老年人死亡率下降。女性的预期寿命保持不变，为81.1岁（男性为76.1岁）。

In October, President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency - a move intended to expand access to treatment and loosen regulations to fight the epidemic.

十月份，唐纳德·特朗普总统宣布，阿片类药物危机已成为突发公共卫生事件--这一举措旨在扩大获得治疗的渠道，同时放松管制、抵抗危机。