OECD study on the pandemic: Life expectancy fell by one year
The corona pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental and physical health of many people.
According to an OECD study, the life expectancy of EU citizens fell significantly in 2021.
As a result of the corona pandemic, life expectancy in the EU in 2021 has fallen by more than a year compared to the level before, according to the OECD. The OECD announced in Paris that this was the highest decline for most countries since the Second World War. Life expectancy in 2021 was therefore just over 80 years.
Twice as many teens with anxiety symptoms
Children and young people in particular suffered from the pandemic in the two years of the pandemic. In Germany, the proportion of 11- to 17-year-old children and adolescents with symptoms of anxiety rose from 15 percent before the pandemic to 30 percent in December 2020 and January 2021, respectively. Psychosocial services had reached their limits because the demand for support was so great according to the OECD.
Invest in human resources and digitization
Corona has thrown a clear light on the weaknesses in the European health systems, which have been underfunded in many places for years.
According to the OECD, Germany still does relatively well. Nevertheless, significant investments should be made, especially in personnel and the digitization of the health sector. In addition, not enough money has been spent on prevention so far.
The study also found that Corona pushed up healthcare spending in almost all EU countries in 2020 and 2021. In Germany, per capita health expenditure rose by almost five percent in real terms in 2020 – according to the OECD, the highest growth rate in the past ten years. In 2021, healthcare spending multiplied by almost three percent.
According to the information, the share of health expenditure in the gross domestic product has grown from 11.7 percent in 2019 to 12.8 percent in 2020. This is the highest proportion of health spending among EU countries.
