Years of life lost to COVID-19 in 81 countries

Understanding the mortality impact of COVID-19 requires not only counting the dead, but analyzing how premature the deaths are. We calculate years of life lost (YLL) across 81 countries due to COVID-19 attributable deaths, and also conduct an analysis based on estimated excess deaths. We find that over 20.5 million years of life have been lost to COVID-19 globally. As of January 6, 2021, YLL in heavily affected countries are 2-9 times the average seasonal influenza; three quarters of the YLL result from deaths in ages below 75 and almost a third from deaths below 55; and men have lost 45% more life years than women. The results confirm the large mortality impact of COVID-19 among the elderly. They also call for heightened awareness in devising policies that protect vulnerable demographics losing the largest number of life-years.

Automated summary

The study reveals a significant loss of years of life due to COVID-19 globally, especially in heavily affected countries. The majority of these lost years are from deaths under 75 years old, particularly those under 55, with men losing 45% more life years than women. These findings emphasize the need for policies that protect vulnerable demographics with the highest loss of life-years.