A year end CDC analysis of data reveals that life expectancy for Americans continues to decline. Despite U.S. health costs being the highest around the world, mortality rates increased for 7 of the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. reported the CDC in a review for 2018.

Drug overdoses continued to increase – 47,600 drug overdose deaths involved any type of opioid, including heroin and illicit opioids, representing over two-thirds of all overdose deaths. U.S. overdose death rates linked to synthetic opioids, likely from illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF), increased more than 45 percent from 2016 to 2017 while death rates from heroin and prescription opioids remained stable and high.

CDC said suicide rate among the U.S. working-age population increased 34 percent between 2000 and 2016. Additionally, suicide rates rose in nearly every state between 1999 and 2016. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death and its rise has contributed to lowered life expectancy.

CDC released data showing a steep and sustained increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including nearly 2.3 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.

New cases of STDs surpassed the previous record by more than 200,000 cases and marked the fourth consecutive year of sharp increases in these STDs.

Chronic disease continues to remain a priority, said the report. Heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and other related conditions caused 2.2 million hospitalizations, resulting in $32.7 billion in costs and 415,000 deaths, according to CDC.

Officials noted these health problems are largely preventable. Many of these events were in adults ages 35-64.

According to the latest data for Louisiana, 2014, the leading causes of death were heart disease, then cancer, accidents, respiratory disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. Louisiana ranks 5th, 4th, 12th, 23rd, 4th and 6th respectively in the nation for these causes of death.