Abstract
Our demographic analyses aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on life expectancy and life span equality in Japan from 2020-22. Our prefectural analysis of 2021–22 life expectancy change and annual per-population COVID-19 cases, person-days in intensive care, and reported COVID-19 deaths showed no significant correlations, unlike our analysis from 2020–21. However, decomposition analysis revealed substantial life expectancy shortening attributable to the population over 35 years old. It also showed large increases in deaths caused by cardiovascular or respiratory disorders as well as COVID-19. Whole-population life span equality declined in 2020 but increased in 2021 and 2022 despite the shorter life expectancy, which was likely attributable to increased mortality among older people. This study revealed how the impact of COVID-19 has become less ascertained in official epidemiological statistics in 2022, and how the pandemic has substantially altered the death cause structure and the distribution of age at death.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Funding Statement
Y.O. received funding from the SECOM Science and Technology Foundation. H.N. received funding from Health and Labour Sciences Research Grants (grant numbers 20CA2024, 21HB1002, 21HA2016, and 23HA2005), the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (grant numbers JP23fk0108612 and JP23fk0108685), JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers 21H03198 and 22K19670), the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (grant number JPMEERF20S11804) of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency of Japan, Kao Health Science Research, the Daikin GAP Fund of Kyoto University, the Japan Science and Technology Agency SICORP program (grant numbers JPMJSC20U3 and JPMJSC2105), and the RISTEX program for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (grant number JPMJRS22B4). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, the decision to publish, or the preparation of the manuscript.
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Footnotes
uploaded wrong files from different research
Data Availability
All data produced in the present work are contained in supplementary materials
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