In wealthy countries, rates of premature death tend to go down as we improve health care and promote healthy behavior. As young people stop smoking and get treatment for diseases like HIV, they’re less likely to die early, as has been the general trend in the US and other wealthy countries for about the past 40 years, from 1970 to 2010.
So it’s a bit disturbing to hear that premature death rates have been on the rise for certain 30-year-old populations in the US over the past 15 years or so.
