Life Expectancy Trend for the Finger Lakes Region

Life expectancy was steadily increasing in the Finger Lakes until 2013 but has declined since then. In 2013 the life expectancy for the region was 80.5 years but it has fallen to 77.3 years, the lowest life expectancy recorded since 2000. Analysis of causes of death in the Finger Lakes has shown that the key reasons for the decrease in life expectancy are drug overdoses, COVID, homicide, and suicide. Life expectancy in the region is very similar to the state trend (excluding NYC).

Methodology note: Years of potential life lost (YPLL) is a widely used measure to assess the rate of premature mortality. YPLL places a larger weight on the deaths of younger people, in contrast with overall mortality statistics which are dominated by deaths of the elderly. The YPLL rates in Common Ground Health analyses are derived using 75 years as the baseline. A death at age 65 has YPLL of 10, where as a death at age 35 has a YPLL of 40. The rates are calculated per 100,000 population and are age-sex adjusted to account for differences in population distribution.