White Americans' Life Expectancy Declines

A rise in drug overdoses, liver disease and suicide are among the reasons why life expectancy for white Americans declined slightly in 2014, new federal data shows.

Life expectancy for whites fell from 78.9 in 2013 to 78.8 in 2014, the first drop since 2005, The New York Times reported.

Life expectancy for blacks rose from 75.5 in 2013 to 75.6 in 2014, and blacks have gained more than one year of life expectancy since 2008. Black men had the largest increase of all groups in 2014, climbing to 72.2 from 71.8 the previous year.

Among Hispanics, life expectancy increased from 81.6 in 2013 to 81.8 in 2014.

Overall life expectancy for Americans remained unchanged at 78.8 in 2014, The Times reported.