The life expectancy in American Samoa is dropping.
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of a person’s life at a given age.
According to the American Samoa Lifetable just released by the Department of Commerce, a newborn male’s average life expectancy is now 69.70 years, a decline of 1.4 years.
A new born female’s average life expectancy is now 74.47 years, a decline of 3.3 years.
The new American Samoa Lifetable was compiled from average deaths between 2018 and 2022, using the 2020 census age/sex distributions as new baseline denominators.
DOC says the decline in the life expectancy needs to be investigated so as to provide crucial insights into the pressing health challenges facing the territory and guide the implementation of changes and policy interventions to enhance public health and longevity in the territory.
According to the International Monetary Fund, a decline in life expectancy can have profound implications on the economy, healthcare and society. It can lead to a diminishing workforce, which can strain the support for retirees. This can result in an explosion of age-related morbidity and associated healthcare costs and a declining quality of life among older people due to a lack of human, financial and institutional resources.
DOC says we should be more focused on family and individual health and lifestyle factors.
