Song Soojin, Lim Daroh
Department of Health Administration, College of Nursing and Health, Kongju National University, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea.
Division of Zoonotic and Vector Borne Disease Research, National Institute of Health, Cheongju 28159, Republic of Korea.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jan 28;13(3):258. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13030258.
This study investigated changes in life expectancy due to the COVID-19 pandemic by analyzing the contributions of age, sex, and cause of death in 2019 and 2022.
Korea's simplified life table and cause-of-death statistics from 2019 to 2022 were used to assess mortality changes by age, sex, and cause of death during the pandemic. Joinpoint regression analysis was applied to detect trends, and the Arriaga decomposition method was used to quantify the contributions of age, sex, and cause of death to life expectancy changes.
Joinpoint regression identified a slow increase in life expectancy in 2007 and a decline in 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Life expectancy decreased markedly for men (-0.36 years per year, 95%CI: -0.68 to -0.03) and women (-0.45 years per year, 95%CI: -0.71 to -0.18). Age-specific contributions revealed declines across age groups, with the steepest reductions in the older population (80 years or older: -0.35 years for men; -0.52 years for women). Women (-0.68 years) contributed more to the decline in life expectancy than men (-0.41 years). COVID-19 ranked as the third leading cause of death in 2022, significantly contributing to the decline in life expectancy among the older population (aged 80 years or older: -0.306 years for men, -0.408 years for women). Women in Korea were more affected than men, reducing the sex-specific gap in life expectancy by 0.3 years.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the life expectancy in Korea, particularly among older adults, with women experiencing a greater decline than men. These findings emphasize the need for targeted public health strategies to address age and sex disparities in future pandemics. Before the pandemic, non-communicable diseases such as malignant neoplasms, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease dominated Korea's top 10 causes of death. During the pandemic, however, COVID-19 rose to third place by 2022. Notably, intentional self-harm (suicide) contributed to an increase in life expectancy, suggesting shifts in the relative impact of various causes of death.
本研究通过分析2019年和2022年年龄、性别及死因的影响，调查了新冠疫情对预期寿命的改变。
利用韩国2019年至2022年的简化生命表和死因统计数据，评估疫情期间按年龄、性别和死因划分的死亡率变化。采用连接点回归分析来检测趋势，并使用阿利亚加分解法来量化年龄、性别和死因对预期寿命变化的影响。
连接点回归分析显示，2007年预期寿命缓慢上升，而在2020年出现下降，这与新冠疫情时间相符。男性预期寿命显著下降（每年-0.36岁，95%置信区间：-0.68至-0.03），女性预期寿命也显著下降（每年-0.45岁，95%置信区间：-0.71至-0.18）。特定年龄组的影响显示各年龄组均有下降，老年人群（80岁及以上）下降最为明显（男性-0.35岁；女性-0.52岁）。女性（-0.68岁）对预期寿命下降的影响大于男性（-0.41岁）。2022年，新冠成为第三大死因，对老年人群（80岁及以上）预期寿命下降有显著影响（男性-0.306岁，女性-0.408岁）。韩国女性受影响大于男性，预期寿命的性别差异缩小了0.3岁。
新冠疫情对韩国的预期寿命产生了重大影响，尤其是在老年人中，女性下降幅度大于男性。这些发现强调了在未来疫情中制定针对性公共卫生策略以解决年龄和性别差异问题的必要性。在疫情之前，恶性肿瘤（癌症）、心脏病和脑血管病等非传染性疾病在韩国十大死因中占主导地位。然而，到2022年疫情期间，新冠升至第三位。值得注意的是，故意自伤（自杀）导致预期寿命增加，这表明各种死因的相对影响发生了变化。
