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The latest study by International Institute for Population Studies (IIPS) has found that that the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced the life expectancy by almost two years.
IIPS professor Suryakant Yadav who has authored the report said that the life expectancy at birth in 2019 was 69.5 years for men and 72 years for women, which came down to 67.5 years and 69.8 years, respectively, in 2020.
The life expectancy at birth is calculated based on the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of the birth of the infant remain constant in the future.
The study further claimed that Covid-19 has claimed the maximum lives of men in the age group of 39-69. "The 35-79 age group had excess deaths caused by COVID-19 in 2020 as compared to normal years and it is this group that has contributed immensely to the drop," Professor Yadav said.
The IIPS scientists conducted the study to look at the burden repercussions of the COVID-19 on mortality patterns in the country. IIPS director Dr K S James said, "Every time we are affected with some epidemic, the life expectancy at birth figures dwindle. For instance, after the HIV-AIDS epidemic in African nations, the expectancy had dropped. Once it was brought under control, the life expectancy recouped as well."
Last month, another study by the University of Oxford stated that the pandemic reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War 2. The Oxford Study added that the life expectancy fell by more than six months compared with 2019 in 22 countries. There were reductions in life expectancy in 27 of the 29 countries overall.
The university said most life expectancy reductions across different countries could be linked to official COVID-19 deaths. There have been nearly 5 million reported deaths caused by the new coronavirus so far.
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