Examining the drop in life expectancy in the United States

I will be writing stories about the drops in life expectancy in the United States.

The Lancet recently published research showing that the United States is lagging farther behind other countries in preventing deaths. The United States now ranks 49th in the world in female mortality and 45th for male mortality.

While epidemiologists often cite smoking and obesity as key culprits of premature death, I want to look at other potential factors, too - including environmental impacts as well the effect of stress on physical well-being. I plan to examine county-level data and will work with epidemiologists studying life expectancy changes.