Moreover, the lost years of life as a result of the pandemic are five times higher than with the flu.

The coronavirus has already claimed millions of lives. But to understand the full impact of the pandemic, we don’t just need to count the number of deaths, according to researchers. COVID-19 has also shortened the lives of many people. And in a new study they have calculated how many years of life have been lost due to the coronavirus.

What about?

The measure of ‘life years lost’ calculates how many years are lost when people die prematurely. To calculate this, the researchers look at how old people were when they died and to what extent their lives were shortened by the virus. In other words: how many years of life are lost due to the virus.

In the study, the researchers estimated changes in life expectancy and life years lost in the year 2020. They then compared this with historical trends between 2005 and 2019 in 37 middle- and high-income countries. The researchers find that between 2005 and 2019, life expectancy increased in all countries studied. But in 2020, that rising trend will come to an abrupt end.

Decrease in life expectancy

In 2020 there was a clear decrease in life expectancy, for both men and women. This happened in almost all countries, with the exception of New Zealand, Taiwan and Norway, where life expectancy increased. Furthermore, the researchers found no change in life expectancy in Denmark, Iceland and South Korea. The largest declines in life expectancy occurred in Russia (−2.33 in men and −2.14 in women), the United States (−2.27 in men and −1.61 in women), Bulgaria (−1 .96 in males and −1.37 in females). ), Lithuania (-1.83 in men and -1.21 in women), Chile (-1.64 in men) and Spain (-1.11 in women).

Lost years of life

Next, the researchers studied the number of years of life lost. The team found that the number of years of life lost decreased in most countries between 2005 and 2019. But in 2020 something remarkable happened: the lost years of life were higher than expected in most countries this year. Only in New Zealand and Taiwan did the number of life years lost. In Iceland, South Korea, Denmark and Norway, the number of years of life lost did not change compared to previous years.

28 million life years lost

In 31 countries, however, more than 222 million life years were lost in 2020. That is 28.1 million more than expected. In addition, the proportion of premature deaths was higher among men than among women (17.3 million men versus 10.8 million women). Most life years (per 100,000) were lost in Russia (7,020 in men and 4,760 in women), Bulgaria (7,260 in men and 3,730 in women), Lithuania (5,430 in men and 2,640 in women) and the United States (4,350 in men). and 2,430 in women).

Corona

According to the researchers, there is a clear cause for this. Because the team argues that the observed decline in life expectancy and the 28 million life years lost can be attributed to the corona pandemic. The fact that comparable or less than expected life years were lost in New Zealand and Taiwan, among others, underlines their successful COVID policy, according to the researchers. “It demonstrates the importance of successful virus policies, including targeted and population-based public health interventions,” they write.

Flu

The researchers also compared the number of life years lost due to COVID-19 with the number of life years lost due to other common diseases, such as the seasonal flu. And it shows that COVID-19 is responsible for up to five times more life years lost than is recorded during an average flu season. This again shows that COVID-19 is not just a flu, but is much more deadly.

Although the pandemic is not over yet, the research gives us a better picture of the major impact of COVID-19 worldwide. Not only is the impact of the pandemic on mortality significant in absolute numbers (official figures indicate that the number of deaths from COVID-19 worldwide has now passed 5 million), but also when we look at the number of years of life lost. The researchers underline that further monitoring is necessary to continue to monitor developments.