COVID-19 didn’t just claim lives directly—it reshaped mortality patterns worldwide. A major international study found that life expectancy plummeted across most of the 24 analyzed countries, with additional deaths from cardiovascular disease, substance abuse, and mental health-related issues.
While some countries, like Japan and South Korea, fared better, Eastern Europe and the U.S. saw devastating losses. Interestingly, cancer mortality continued to decline, suggesting some medical services remained intact. The findings stress the urgent need for stronger healthcare systems to withstand future crises.
COVID-19’s Broad Impact on Global Mortality
A global study, co-authored by DPhil student Antonino Polizzi and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow Dr. José Manuel Aburto, examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected mortality across 24 countries.
Researchers from the University of Oxford, Australian National University, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine analyzed cause-of-death data from these countries before and during the pandemic.
Staggering Declines in 2020 and 2021
Their findings revealed a sharp drop in life expectancy in 2020 for nearly all countries studied, with only four exceptions. The United States saw the steepest decline, with life expectancy for males falling by 2.1 years.
In 2021, life expectancy continued to decline in most countries. The most severe losses were recorded in Bulgaria for females and Latvia for males, both experiencing declines of more than two years.
COVID-19’s Lasting Mortality Effects
Lead author Antonino Polizzi said, “This study explores the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality across the world, and highlights that life expectancy losses had still not returned to pre-pandemic levels in several countries by 2022.”
The study found that, in addition to COVID-19 deaths, increased mortality attributed to cardiovascular disease was a major contributor to life expectancy losses during the first two years of the pandemic, particularly in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Eastern Europe Hit Hard by Heart Disease
In 2020, cardiovascular disease-related losses were greatest in Russia which experienced losses of 5.3 months, while Bulgaria experienced cardiovascular disease-related losses of 5.5 months in 2021. The authors suggest that this could have been due to lapses in prevention or treatment of cardiovascular disease, or undercounted COVID-19 deaths.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Toll
The study also found increased mortality from substance abuse and mental health-related causes in some countries during the pandemic. The USA and Canada saw continued increases in drug-related deaths, contributing to life expectancy declines.
Alcohol-related mortality also increased, with Latvia experiencing significant life expectancy losses. However, suicide and accident mortality typically declined during the pandemic years.
East Asia’s Resilience Amid the Crisis
Japan and South Korea experienced minimal life expectancy losses during the pandemic and were the exception to most of these trends. However, females in Japan saw comparatively large losses from suicide mortality in 2020.
More positively, cancer mortality generally continued to decline in most countries. The authors speculate that cancer care was less disrupted than expected during the pandemic, or that people with cancer were more susceptible to COVID-19 mortality which was then not counted as a cancer death.
Lessons for the Future of Global Healthcare
The study concludes by underscoring the need for robust healthcare systems capable of handling crises without compromising care for other conditions. It also highlights the importance of targeted public health interventions to address the varied impacts across different countries and age groups.
Dr. José Manuel Aburto said, “This study highlights the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacted other causes of death, and the need to analyze different diseases and causes of death in a post-pandemic context to identify factors that can improve global healthcare systems.”
Reference: “Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cause-of-death analysis of life expectancy changes in 24 countries, 2015 to 2022” by Antonino Polizzi, Luyin Zhang, Sergey Timonin, Aashish Gupta, Jennifer Beam Dowd, David A Leon and José Manuel Aburto, 19 December 2024, PNAS Nexus.
DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae508

News
3D-printed implant offers a potential new route to repair spinal cord injuries
A research team at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences has developed a 3-D printed implant to deliver electrical stimulation to injured areas of the spinal cord, offering a potential new route to [...]
Nanocrystals Carrying Radioisotopes Offer New Hope for Cancer Treatment
The Science Scientists have developed tiny nanocrystal particles made up of isotopes of the elements lanthanum, vanadium, and oxygen for use in treating cancer. These crystals are smaller than many microbes and can carry isotopes of [...]
New Once-a-Week Shot Promises Life-Changing Relief for Parkinson’s Patients
A once-a-week shot from Australian scientists could spare people with Parkinson’s the grind of taking pills several times a day. The tiny, biodegradable gel sits under the skin and releases steady doses of two [...]
Weekly injectable drug offers hope for Parkinson’s patients
A new weekly injectable drug could transform the lives of more than eight million people living with Parkinson's disease, potentially replacing the need for multiple daily tablets. Scientists from the University of South Australia [...]
Most Plastic in the Ocean Is Invisible—And Deadly
Nanoplastics—particles smaller than a human hair—can pass through cell walls and enter the food web. New research suggest 27 million metric tons of nanoplastics are spread across just the top layer of the North [...]
Repurposed drugs could calm the immune system’s response to nanomedicine
An international study led by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has identified a promising strategy to enhance the safety of nanomedicines, advanced therapies often used in cancer and vaccine treatments, [...]
Nano-Enhanced Hydrogel Strategies for Cartilage Repair
A recent article in Engineering describes the development of a protein-based nanocomposite hydrogel designed to deliver two therapeutic agents—dexamethasone (Dex) and kartogenin (KGN)—to support cartilage repair. The hydrogel is engineered to modulate immune responses and promote [...]
New Cancer Drug Blocks Tumors Without Debilitating Side Effects
A new drug targets RAS-PI3Kα pathways without harmful side effects. It was developed using high-performance computing and AI. A new cancer drug candidate, developed through a collaboration between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), BridgeBio Oncology [...]
Scientists Are Pretty Close to Replicating the First Thing That Ever Lived
For 400 million years, a leading hypothesis claims, Earth was an “RNA World,” meaning that life must’ve first replicated from RNA before the arrival of proteins and DNA. Unfortunately, scientists have failed to find [...]
Why ‘Peniaphobia’ Is Exploding Among Young People (And Why We Should Be Concerned)
An insidious illness is taking hold among a growing proportion of young people. Little known to the general public, peniaphobia—the fear of becoming poor—is gaining ground among teens and young adults. Discover the causes [...]
Team finds flawed data in recent study relevant to coronavirus antiviral development
The COVID pandemic illustrated how urgently we need antiviral medications capable of treating coronavirus infections. To aid this effort, researchers quickly homed in on part of SARS-CoV-2's molecular structure known as the NiRAN domain—an [...]
Drug-Coated Neural Implants Reduce Immune Rejection
Summary: A new study shows that coating neural prosthetic implants with the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone helps reduce the body’s immune response and scar tissue formation. This strategy enhances the long-term performance and stability of electrodes [...]
Scientists discover cancer-fighting bacteria that ‘soak up’ forever chemicals in the body
A family of healthy bacteria may help 'soak up' toxic forever chemicals in the body, warding off their cancerous effects. Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), are toxic chemicals that [...]
Johns Hopkins Researchers Uncover a New Way To Kill Cancer Cells
A new study reveals that blocking ribosomal RNA production rewires cancer cell behavior and could help treat genetically unstable tumors. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular [...]
AI matches doctors in mapping lung tumors for radiation therapy
In radiation therapy, precision can save lives. Oncologists must carefully map the size and location of a tumor before delivering high-dose radiation to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. But this process, called [...]
Scientists Finally “See” Key Protein That Controls Inflammation
Researchers used advanced microscopy to uncover important protein structures. For the first time, two important protein structures in the human body are being visualized, thanks in part to cutting-edge technology at the University of [...]