Impact of COVID-19 on life expectancy at birth in India: a decomposition analysis

Background Quantifying excess deaths and their impact on life expectancy at birth (e(0)) provide a more comprehensive understanding of the burden of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) on mortality. The study aims to comprehend the repercussions of the burden of COVID-19 disease on the life expectancy at birth and inequality in age at death in India. Methods The mortality schedule of COVID-19 disease in the pandemic year 2020 was considered one of the causes of death in the category of other infectious diseases in addition to other 21 causes of death in the non-pandemic year 2019 in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data. The measures e(0) and Gini coefficient at age zero (G(0)) and then sex differences in e(0) and G(0) over time were analysed by assessing the age-specific contributions based on the application of decomposition analyses in the entire period of 2010-2020. Results The e(0) for men and women decline from 69.5 and 72.0 years in 2019 to 67.5 and 69.8 years, respectively, in 2020. The e(0) shows a drop of approximately 2.0 years in 2020 when compared to 2019. The sex differences in e(0) and G(0) are negatively skewed towards men. The trends in e(0) and G(0) value reveal that its value in 2020 is comparable to that in the early 2010s. The age group of 35-79 years showed a remarkable negative contribution to Delta e(0) and Delta G(0). By causes of death, the COVID-19 disease has contributed - 1.5 and - 9.5%, respectively, whereas cardiovascular diseases contributed the largest value of was 44.6 and 45.9%, respectively, to sex differences in e(0) and G(0) in 2020. The outcomes reveal a significant impact of excess deaths caused by the COVID-19 disease on mortality patterns. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has negative repercussions on e(0) and G(0) in the pandemic year 2020. It has severely affected the distribution of age at death in India, resulting in widening the sex differences in e(0) and G(0). The COVID-19 disease demonstrates its potential to cancel the gains of six to eight years in e(0) and five years in G(0) and has slowed the mortality transition in India.

Automated summary

This study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality patterns in India, revealing a decrease in life expectancy at birth (e(0)) and an increase in gender differences in e(0) and the Gini coefficient at age zero (G(0)). The age group of 35-79 years showed significant negative contributions to the changes in e(0) and G(0). COVID-19 was found to have significant repercussions on mortality, leading to a slowdown in mortality transition in India.