White Americans without high school diplomas have seen their life expectancy fall by four years since 1990, according to results from a recent Health Affairs study. The New York Times reports that the drop was sharpest among less-educated white women, whose life expectancy dropped by five years, as opposed to a three year decline for less-educated men.

And the chasm between the most-educated and least-educated whites’ life expectancy is particularly striking. White men and women without high school diplomas now live an average of 67.5 years and 73.5 years respectively, while the most-educated white men and women – those with a college degree or more – live 80.4 years and 83.9 years respectively, a difference of over a decade for both genders.

Although the study does not provide definitive answers as to the cause for the decline, researchers believe that broad health trends and a general lack of access to health insurance are crucial underlying factors:

The reasons for the decline remain unclear, but researchers offered possible explanations, including a spike in prescription drug overdoses among young whites, higher rates of smoking among less educated white women, rising obesity, and a steady increase in the number of the least […]