COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have had an unexpected benefit for Australians, extending their lifespan when other countries saw a drop in life expectancy.
Australian National University (ANU) researchers found the average lifespan of the population increased by 0.7 years – the equivalent of about eight months – for both men and women in 2020, even though the country recorded 2,980 COVID-19 deaths.
ANU School of Demography researcher Vladimir Canudas-Romo, who co-wrote the paper, said the increase in life expectancy was a major increase compared to other nations and bucked the usual trend.
In the US, life expectancy plunged by 1.7 years for women and 2.2 years for men.
“It surprised me a lot; in the past decade, Australia has not been increasing particularly, our life expectancy is increasing very modestly by one month or 1.5 months each year,” said Prof. Canudas-Romo.
“For decades it has been like that and the increase has been progressing very slowly, and this year everywhere else there is an excess of deaths, so by protecting ourselves and distancing ourselves from others our life expectancy has been boosted.”
Male life expectancy improving faster
Life expectancy in 2020 for Australian women was 85.85 years and for men 81.7 years, the Australian Bureau of Statistics stated. Life expectancy for men is improving at a faster rate than that for women.
The factors behind the rise in life expectancy:
- Lockdowns – the wearing of face masks, the advice to use hand sanitiser frequently, and maintaining adequate space between people;
- Border closures – ensured no diseases entered the country or was spread from State to State;
- Health – death from influenza (one hospitalisation last year compared to 30,000 in 2019) and pneumonia fell 20 per cent in 2020; cancer survival rates improved; and
- Less traffic – fatal road crashes fell by 17.6% in 2020.
Professor Canudas-Romo said Australia was in an ideal position to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic with a high vaccination rate – 92.8% of the population has two doses – vastly improving the country’s position from past global pandemics such as the Spanish flu.
“I think we have been living in a condition that is of envy to the rest of the world,” he said.
“All these health measures we were asking, the sacrifices of lockdown and social distancing have had a very important effect on public health, and the best example is a life expectancy that has increased by so much.
“It comes at an important moment as many people are getting tired and want to put their hands up, but we are doing the right thing.
“Get vaccinated and keep social distancing and continue good hygiene – that is the way to go.”
Good advice.
