2023-11-15 17:31:51
Covid continues to weigh on the state of health of populations, according to the OECD Health Overview 2021 which highlights the serious repercussions of the pandemic on mental health and the indirect consequences on physical health.
Plus 16% of the expected number of deaths in 2020 and the first half of 2021 in OECD countries, decline in life expectancy in 24 out of 30 countries with comparable data, and mainly in the United States (by 1. 6 years, linked to overdoses linked to opioid use) and in Spain (1.5 years). The pandemic has led to an increase in health spending, reaching 9.7% of GDP in 2020, with significant variations between the most affected countries (compared to 8.8% of GDP on average in 2019).
Anxiety and depressive disorders have more than doubled in most of the countries studied, most notably in Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. While “indicators point to a slight improvement in the mental health of the population as we recover from the pandemic, mental health problems remain high: the share of the population reporting symptoms of depression in 2022 remains at least 20 % higher than before the pandemic,” notes the Health overview 2021.
Source: Health at a Glance 2021, OECD
A third of preventable deaths
As for the impacts on physical health, they can be explained by a reduction in cancer screenings and significant lengthening of median waiting times for certain operations. “Almost a third of all deaths could have been avoided with more effective and timely prevention and health care interventions,” experts estimate. In 2021, heart attacks, strokes and other circulatory diseases cause more than one in four deaths; one in five deaths was due to cancer, and Covid-19 Coronavirus disease, sometimes referred to as covid (coronavirus disease), is an illness caused by a coronavirus (CoV). The term may refer to the following diseases: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by the SARS-CoV virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) caused by the MERS-CoV virus, coronavirus disease 2019 ( Covid-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. caused 7% of all deaths.
Health workforce numbers remain insufficient despite an increase over the past decade, highlighting the need to devote more resources to these areas. Particularly in the context of aging populations (18% of the population will be aged 65 and over on average in 2021) which increases the need for health and care professionals.
The report highlights the need to invest more in primary care, prevention, and strengthen the resilience of health systems.
The health crisis has seen certain harmful behaviors increase – such as smoking or alcoholism – but, along with obesity, these have been identified as increased risks of complications linked to Covid A coronavirus disease, sometimes referred to as covid (from after the English acronym coronavirus disease) is an illness caused by a coronavirus (CoV). The term may refer to the following diseases: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by the SARS-CoV virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) caused by the MERS-CoV virus, coronavirus disease 2019 ( Covid-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Spending allocated to prevention remains relatively low, representing only 2.7% of all health spending on average.
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