[ad_1]
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, as the life expectancy of American men decreases further 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 Ridhi Kashyap, lead co-author of the article. , published in the International Journal of. Epidemiology.
The decline in male life expectancy has been larger than that of women in most countries, with the largest decline among American men, whose life expectancy fell by 2.2 years from 2019.
ALSO READ: Covid reduces life expectancy of American men by 2 years; worst in 29 countries
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.
The lifespan impact of Covid-19 may be greater in less developed countries that were not included in the research.
“Emerging evidence from low- and middle-income countries, such as Brazil and Mexico, that have been devastated by the pandemic suggests that the losses in life expectancy may be even greater in these populations,” said the researchers, noting that losses in life expectancy are also likely to vary between subgroups within countries.
Before the pandemic, life expectancy at birth had steadily increased in most countries for generations. Covid-19, however, “sparked a global mortality crisis”, the magnitude of which has not been observed since World War II in Western European countries such as Spain, England and the United Kingdom. Wales, Italy, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Portugal. And the losses observed in the countries of Eastern Europe exceeded those after the dissolution of the Eastern bloc, with the exception of Lithuania and Hungary.
Only Denmark and Norway, which have excelled in controlling their epidemics, have avoided a drop in life expectancy for both sexes, according to the study.
Globally, more than 231.8 million cases of Covid-19 and 4.7 million deaths have been reported, although researchers say the official toll is a gross underestimate. The United States is expected to have around 777,000 Covid deaths by the end of the year, according to modeling this month by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
The researchers warned against the perception of Covid-19 as “a transient shock to life expectancy”. There is evidence of potential lingering damage from extended and delayed care for other illnesses, compounded by the health effects of worsening inequalities due to the social and economic disruptions of the pandemic. “The scars of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health of the population could be more lasting,” they said.
[ad_2]
Source link
