The COVID-19 pandemic reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War II, according to a study from Oxford University. Life expectancy for men in the U.S. dropped by more than two years. It decreased by over six months compared to 2019 in 22 out of 29 countries whose populations were analyzed in the study, which included Europe, the U.S., and Chile, and overall, life expectancy declined in 27 out of 29 countries.
The university stated that most reductions in life expectancy across various countries could be linked to official COVID-19 deaths. A Reuters tally reported nearly 5 million COVID-19 deaths to date. The lead author of the research paper, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, Dr. Reedy Kashyap, stated, "The fact that our findings highlight such a significant impact directly attributable to COVID-19 shows the devastating shock to many countries."
There was a greater decline in life expectancy for men compared to women in most countries, with the largest drop among American men, who experienced a decrease in life expectancy of 2.2 years compared to 2019. Overall, the effect was greater on men in more than 15 countries, while it was greater on women in 11 countries. This has erased the progress made in mortality rates over the past five years.
In the U.S., the increase in mortality was primarily among those of working age and those under 60, while in Europe, deaths among those over 60 contributed more significantly to the increase in mortality rates. Kashyap urged more countries, including those with low and middle income, to provide mortality data for further studies. She said, "We urgently call for the publication and availability of more categorized data for a better understanding of the pandemic's effects globally."
