MADISON, Wis. — A new report says life expectancy in Wisconsin has dropped for two years in a row fueled by increased deaths from alcohol abuse and opioids.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum report released Monday finds that while Wisconsin is mirroring a national trend in shorter life expectancies overall, the state loses ground due to alcohol and opioid deaths and increased mortality among black people.
Drug and alcohol deaths in Wisconsin have more than tripled since 1999. The state’s drug death rate has more than quadrupled since 1999.
In Milwaukee County, the opioid death rate for all races was more than twice the statewide rate between 2013 and 2017.
The life expectancy for a baby born in Wisconsin between 2015 and 2017 is 80 years, down from 80.2 years for babies born two years earlier.
