Life expectancy in Australia has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research from the Australian National University (ANU).
The ANU research team took a study conducted by Oxford University last year, adding data from Australia.
They compared relative life expectancy across countries before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found the median age of Australians increased between 2019 and 2020 by 0.7 years for both women and men.
According to the researchers, this is the largest increase observed in Australia since the 1990s.
They also found survival increased fairly evenly across the states, particularly in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, which each experienced about half a year of increased life expectancy.
Why does ‘lockdown’ increase the life expectancy?
Research team links Australia’s rising life expectancy to COVID-19 treatment
According to the researchers, despite the stresses of summer bushfires and the start of the coronavirus pandemic, life expectancy is growing as a result of the shutdown and lockdown border.
Infectious disease in Australia reportedly reduced in 2020 as many people stayed at home due to the lockdown, with a 20 per cent reduction in the number of deaths from pneumonia and influenza.
The death toll due to traffic accidents has also decreased, because people are forced to stay at home.
“During the 1918 Spanish flu, there were also attempts to close the Australian border,” said study author Professor Vladimir Canudas-Romo.
“However, once opened, the lack of vaccination allowed the virus to spread with fatal effects. With today’s modern vaccines, Australia can escape a deadly situation.”
Professor Canudas-Romo also said the number of deaths from non-communicable diseases had decreased.
“This includes reducing deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks and strokes, which substantially reduces mortality,” said Professor Canudas-Romo.
The increase in life expectancy by 2020 puts Australia well ahead of other countries.
The country with the highest increase after Australia was Denmark with a 0.1 year increase and Norway 0.2 year.
In the United States, however, the figure has tended to decline, with median life expectancy decreasing by -1.7 years for women and -2.2 years for men.
Does not reflect the quality of life
Tim Driscoll, from the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, said the study’s findings were interesting, given the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on Australian society.
“I think we will all think that the health problems that come from COVID-19 are causing a lot of people to die, plus the illnesses that arise in COVID-19 patients,” he said.
“It’s surprising to see that life expectancy has actually increased more than we thought,” Professor Driscoll said.
But he has concerns about how many diseases may go undetected over the past two years, given the number of people who can’t come to hospitals during lockdown or visit doctors less often to avoid spreading COVID-19.
“And there’s also a lot of concern in the cancer patient community about those who can’t see a doctor and don’t get involved in activities screening [deteksi dini kanker].”
But Professor Driscoll said how much the reduction in doctor visits could affect future life expectancy remains to be seen.
He also said the Delta and Omicron variants had increased the number of cases and deaths, further weakening Australia’s healthcare system.
Professor Driscoll added that the results of the study also did not show the welfare of the wider community, although there seemed to be benefits from the ‘lockdown’.
One of the main concerns during the pandemic is its impact on mental health, but Professor Driscoll said it was difficult to define through statistics.
“There are many impacts… at the beginning of the pandemic and lockdownon mental health, and may increase the risk of suicide,” he said.
“There may not be evidence that it’s happening yet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any problems for the mental health of people living in isolation.”
Finally, he emphasized that increasing life expectancy is not the only sign of improving health.
“[Angka harapan hidup] this does not indicate quality of life,” he said.
This article was compiled and produced by Hellena Souisa from ABC News
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