COVID-19 pandemic has reduced life expectancy for most since World War II – study

By Victor Jack

LONDON (Reuters) – The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War II, according to a study released by the University of Oxford on Monday, the life expectancy of American men declining by more than two years.

Life expectancy fell by more than six months compared to 2019 in 22 of the 29 countries analyzed in the study, which covered Europe, the United States and Chile. There have been reductions in life expectancy in 27 of the 29 countries in total.

The university said most of the reductions in life expectancy in different countries could be linked to official deaths from COVID-19. So far, nearly 5 million deaths from the novel coronavirus have been reported, according to a Reuters tally.

“The fact that our results highlight such a large impact which is directly attributable to COVID-19 shows what a devastating shock it has been for many countries,” said Dr Ridhi Kashyap, co-lead author of the article, published in the International Journal. of epidemiology.

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There have been larger declines in life expectancy for men than for women in most countries, with the largest drop in US men, who have seen their life expectancy drop by 2.2 years. compared to 2019.

Overall, men have shaved for more than a year in 15 countries, compared to women in 11 countries. This reversed the advances in mortality that had been made in the previous 5.6 years.

In the United States, the increase in mortality mainly affects people of working age and those under 60, while in Europe, deaths of people over 60 contribute more significantly to the increase in mortality .

Kashyap called on more countries, including low- and middle-income countries, to make mortality data available for further study.

“We urgently call for the publication and availability of more disaggregated data to better understand the impacts of the pandemic on a global scale,” she said.

(Reporting by Victor Jack; Editing by Alistair Smout and David Gregorio)