Pandemic cuts life expectancy by most since WWII

The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War II, with the life expectancy of American men dropping by more than two years, according to new data.

In the 29 countries studied - the United States, Chile, and 27 in Europe - all but two showed reductions in life expectancy or the average period that a person may expect to live.

There were greater drops in life expectancy for men than women in most countries.

"The large declines in life expectancy observed in the United States can partly be explained by the notable increase in mortality at working ages observed in 2020," study co-leader Ridhi Kashyap of the University of Oxford said in a statement.

"In the United States, increases in mortality in the under 60 age group contributed most significantly to life expectancy declines, whereas across most of Europe increases in mortality above age 60 contributed more significantly."

The largest declines were found in US men, who saw life expectancy drop by 2.2 years relative to 2019, followed by a 1.7-year decline for Lithuanian men.

Women in the United States and Spain had drops in life expectancy of 1.5 years or more.

Overall, men had more than a year shaved off in 15 countries, compared to women in 11 countries.

Females from 15 countries and males from 10 ended up with lower life expectancy at birth in 2020 than in 2015, the research team reported on Sunday in the International Journal of Epidemiology.  -- Reuters