[Scram1]

From the abstract page:
“ Life expectancy in the US decreased disproportionately among racial and ethnic minority groups between 2018 and 2020, declining by 3.88, 3.25, and 1.36 years in Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic White populations, respectively.”

https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1343

NPR is playing with inaccurate descriptions.

[neverevergiveup]

"It is impossible to look at these findings and not see a reflection of the systemic racism in the U.S.," Lesley Curtis, chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine, told NPR.

Predictable, reflexive, irresponsible, and poorly thought-out response. Exactly what you would expect from an academic. Hispanics have generally had higher life-expectancy than whites in the US. Is that systemic racism? Obesity, smoking, and homicide rates are higher for blacks in the US, and very likely contribute significantly to differences in life expectancy.

Life expectancy for blacks in African nations are significantly less than those in the US (with less discrepancy for some Northern African countries). Is that because of systemic racism in majority black countries?

There are a lot of things that affect life expectancy. Jumping to the conclusion that disparities are secondary to systemic racism is a broad leap and an irresponsible one absent definitive data that prove this claim.

[ransomnote]

Denying sick people medical treatment, telling them to return when they need to be put on oxygen, has the effect of shortening lifespan.

[lepton]

If all were COVID, you’d expect a big bounce-back in the statistic. On the other hand, there is also the effects of millions of people avoiding medical diagnosis and treatment for more than a year.