Life expectancy in the United States rose by about one year in 2022 following earlier decreases linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Life expectancy predicts the average number of years a baby born in a given year can expect to live.

Federal data showed that in 2022, U.S. life expectancy rose from 76.4 years to 77.5 years.

Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 2022's increase came largely because of disappearing COVID-19 cases.

For many years, life expectancy for Americans generally rose a little bit nearly every year.

But about 10 years ago, the rate flattened and even decreased in some years.

Those drops were blamed on drug overdose deaths and suicides.

The number of U.S. suicides reached an all-time high last year, a separate CDC report found.

The national suicide rate also saw its highest level since 1941.

U.S. drug overdose deaths rose slightly in 2022 after much larger increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.