Life expectancy in the age of COVID

A friend of mine who is just turning 70 just finished treatment for cancer talked about the fact that he had many friends who were younger than him who had died. I did some checking to see if his anecdotal experiences were part of a general trend. I always thought we were living longer, but it appears that Canadians’ average life expectancy fell to the largest degree ever recorded during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released this week by Statistics Canada.

The agency says Canadians’ average life expectancy dropped to 81.7 years in 2020 from 82.3 years in 2019 — a drop of more than half a year.

“It is substantial because that is the largest decline ever observed — at least since 1921, the year our national vital statistics registration system was introduced,” Statistics Canada demographer Patrice Dion explained.

Despite the historic decline, Canada’s 2020 life expectancy remained among the highest in the world, according to Statistics Canada.

Most other countries have (also) seen a decline. Some countries like the United States also saw a drop in life expectancy. Their life expectancy currently stands at 77 years -- 74.2 for men, 79.9 for women -- which represents a decrease of 1.8 years from the pre-Covid era. Few countries managed to have their life expectancies stable or increasing,” Dion said. Nationally, the decline was greater for men, at 0.7 years, than for women, who saw the average life expectancy fell by 0.4 years.

The gender trend was generally reflected at the provincial level, except in Quebec, where women’s life expectancy fell by more than men, and in B.C., where the life expectancy of women remained stable.

The good news:

• Stats Canada believes that as a result should the worst impacts of the pandemic begin to wind down the country’s average life expectancy would be expected to quickly rebound. 
• Over the years our life expectancy has gone up dramatically. For comparison, in 1950, life expectancy was roughly 62 years -- or 15 years less than it is now.
• Those of us who have already made it to 65 can expect to live another 20 years or so -- a little more for women, a little less for men. In addition to Covid, other causes of death have also increased in the past two years. The biggest killer, especially in our age group, is heart disease. Deaths from heart disease have increased by 4%. Why? No one knows for sure. But it's likely because people have been avoiding going to the doctor due to the restrictions of Covid. 

The message is clear: go to the doctor. We need to get our checkups and usual medical tests and pay attention to our mental health.