The Trajectory of Life Expectancy and Life Expectancy Gradients through the COVID-19 Pandemic

We will measure changes in life expectancy between 2022 and 2024 and examine how the relationship between income and life expectancy varied by year and by race and ethnicity. We will explore changes in the income-life expectancy gradient between 2015 and 2024, capturing the period before, during, and after the pandemic, and investigate how those changes differed across racial and ethnic populations. The primary outcome of this study, life expectancy at birth, is an estimate of how long a cohort of newborns can expect to live were they to experience the prevailing age-specific mortality rates of the year. For example, estimates of life expectancy at birth in 2020 describe the mortality experience of a population in 2020. Restricted death data are obtained from the California Comprehensive Death Files of the California Department of Health, which include detailed information such as birth and death dates, race and ethnicity, and census track of residence. Household income data and population counts are collected from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). We will examine the income-life expectancy gradient for the California state population and 4 sub-populations (Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White) defined by race and ethnicity.