Causes of excess deaths in the US compared with other high-income countries
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 17-May-2026 16:15 ET (17-May-2026 20:15 GMT/UTC)
A new study in JAMA Network Open found that between 1999-2022, the annual number of excess US deaths—deaths that would not have occurred had the mortality rate in the US been the same as in other HICs—increased steadily through 2019 and then rose rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2022, all-cause mortality rates in the US were 38 percent higher than in other HICs. An estimated 12.7 million US deaths could have been averted during this period if US mortality rates mirrored those of its peers. The authors refer to these excess US deaths as “missing Americans.”
MUSC researchers are tackling MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a liver disease affecting hundreds of millions worldwide. It is also a leading cause of liver transplantation, yet treatment options remain limited. A new paper published in Nature partner journal (npj) Metabolic Health and Disease suggests that a widely used asthma medication, formoterol, could potentially offer a different therapeutic pathway altogether.
A largely overlooked structure inside our cells may play a crucial role in how the brain forms, offering new insight into developmental disorders and potential therapies.
A new study explored whether women visualised a vaccine would have a positive or negative impact on their babies, and if that affected their decision to be vaccinated. The findings, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, showed that mental images were common and – depending on whether that mental image was a positive or negative one, and about the impacts of diseases or the vaccine itself – could be used in some cases to predict if and when the women ultimately became vaccinated during pregnancy.