COVID-19 has exacerbated a troubling U.S. health trend: premature deaths
The pandemic played into already rising death rates from obesity, drugs, alcohol and suicide
![distraught woman sitting on a sofa with a glass of wine](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/030421_bb_mortalityrate_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Premature deaths in the United States from drugs, alcohol and obesity-related causes became a public health crisis that set the stage for COVID-19 challenges, a new report finds.
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