Abstract
To provide an interpretable summary of the impact on mortality of the COVID-19 pandemic we estimate weekly and annual life expectancies at birth in Spain and its regions. We used daily death count data from the Spanish Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo), and death counts from 2018, and population on July 1st, 2019 by region (CCAA), age groups, and sex from the Spanish National Statistics Institute. We estimated weekly and annual (2019 and 2020*, the shifted annual calendar period up to 5 July 2020) life expectancies at birth as well as their differences with respect to 2019. Weekly life expectancies at birth in Spain were lower in weeks 11-20, 2020 compared to the same weeks in 2019. This drop in weekly life expectancy was especially strong in weeks 13 and 14 (March 23rd to April 5th), with national declines ranging between 6.1 and 7.6 years and maximum regional weekly declines of up to 15 years in Madrid. Annual life expectancy differences between 2019 and 2020 also reflected an overall drop in annual life expectancy of 0.9 years for both men and women. These drops ranged between 0 years in several regions (e.g. Canary and Balearic Islands) to 2.8 years among men in Madrid. Life expectancy is an easy to interpret measure for understanding the heterogeneity of mortality patterns across Spanish regions. Weekly and annual life expectancy are sensitive and useful indicators for understanding disparities and communicating the gravity of the situation because differences are expressed in intuitive year units.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing substantial increases in mortality in several populations worldwide
And annual life expectancy are sensitive and useful indicators for understanding disparities and communicating the gravity of the situation because differences are expressed in intuitive year units
Beyond the official death toll statistics, the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with net increases in mortality in several populations [4], which could owe to a combination of factors
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing substantial increases in mortality in several populations worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic used an unprecedented amount of health service resources, including intensive care unit beds and strong preventive health measures in hospitals. This has put health systems in challenging situations [5], and potentially led to increases in morbidity and mortality indirectly related to COVID-19. While total excess mortality and total number of COVID-19 deaths provide some measure of the impact of the pandemic within populations, their interpretation is not always straightforward, and comparisons between populations can be challenging. To provide an interpretable summary of the impact on mortality of the COVID-19 pandemic we estimate weekly and annual life expectancies at birth in Spain and its regions
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