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(CNN) -
The covid-19 pandemic caused a 16% increase in expected deaths among the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), affecting overall life expectancy in 24 of the 30 members, the organization said Tuesday.
Life expectancy fell the most in Spain and the United States, the OECD said, with the United States losing 1.6 years of life per capita on average during the year and a half of the pandemic so far, and Spain losing 1.5 years.
"Covid-19 contributed, directly and indirectly, to a 16% increase in the expected number of deaths in 2020 and the first half of 2021 in OECD countries," the report said.
The global number of deaths from covid-19 surpassed the 5 million mark last week, according to John Hopkins University.
The virus has killed more than 750,000 people in the United States alone.
Several reports have shown that it has affected life expectancy in the US.
Half of the world's population is at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Our World In Data.
So goes Latin America
The report found little change in the countries that enjoy the longest comparative life expectancies.
"Japan, Switzerland and Spain lead a large group of 27 OECD countries in which life expectancy at birth exceeded 80 years in 2019," the report reads.
"A second group, which included the United States and several Central and Eastern European countries, had a life expectancy of between 77 and 80 years. Mexico and Latvia had the lowest life expectancy, less than 76 years."
Life expectancy has been on the rise over the past century, although that growth has slowed in recent years and the pandemic has had an acute effect.
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"Covid-19 has disproportionately affected vulnerable populations. More than 90% of deaths registered by covid-19 have occurred among people aged 60 and over. There has also been a clear social gradient, with disadvantaged people, people living in disadvantaged areas and the majority of people in ethnic minorities and immigrants are at increased risk of infection and death, "the report adds.
The OECD, which groups rich and middle-level nations, and whose reports set some international standards for comparing spending, living standards, health outcomes, and other national targets, publishes regular reports that attempt to analyze how spending on Health affects outcomes such as cancer care and overall life expectancy.
This year's report finds that the death rate from covid-19 in the US was close to the OECD average.
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The group, whose members include India, Indonesia, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, analyzed COVID-19 death rates to find 1,824 COVID-19 deaths per 1 million population in 2020 and the first half of 2021 for USA The United States had 13,197 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, more than the OECD average.
Additionally, the US has average vaccination rates, with 55% of the population fully vaccinated at the time the report was written.
The United Kingdom had 2,232 COVID-19 deaths per million inhabitants, 11,608 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and a vaccination rate of 66%.
Japan had 117 deaths from covid-19 per 1 million inhabitants, 1,347 cases of covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants, and a vaccination rate of 61.2%.
Canada had 699 COVID-19 deaths per 1 million inhabitants, 4,347 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and a vaccination rate of 71.2%.
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Pandemic increases global rates of depression and anxiety
The report found large increases in certain mental illnesses with the pandemic.
"The impact of the pandemic on mental health has been enormous, with a prevalence of anxiety and depression more than double the levels observed before the crisis in most countries with available data, especially in Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States, "he said.
"The prevalence of anxiety and depression in early 2020 was twice or more the level seen in previous years in several countries, including Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and the United States," he added.
"In France, the United Kingdom and the United States, the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression increased during periods when there were spikes in COVID-19 infections and deaths, and when greater containment measures were implemented," he said, citing reports from the French and UK public health departments and the US National Center for Health Statistics.
"The impact of the pandemic on mental health has been particularly harsh for doctors, nurses, long-term care workers and other health workers who work close to patients," the organization said in its report.
"Healthcare workers have reported high rates of anxiety, depression, burnout and turnover since the start of the pandemic," the report reads.
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"In the United States, a survey of frontline health workers found that more than three-fifths (62%) reported that stress or worry about COVID-19 negatively affected their mental health, and close to half (49%) ) reported that stress had affected their physical health, "he adds." Almost a third of those surveyed reported that they need or have received mental health services due to the pandemic. "
And nurses may have been more affected than doctors.
"A survey of 33 national nursing associations found that three-fifths reported that they occasionally or regularly received reports from nurses about pandemic-related mental health problems," the report added, citing a survey conducted by the International Council of Nurses.
"In a survey of the workforce across the European Union, 70% of workers in the healthcare sector, more than any other sector of the workforce, report that they believe their work puts them at risk of contracting the infection by covid-19, "says the report.
"In a March 2020 survey of healthcare workers in Italy, about half (49%) had symptoms of PTSD and a quarter had symptoms of depression. Frontline workers had significantly higher odds of presenting post-traumatic stress syndrome than those who did not report having worked with covid-19 patients, "he added.
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"An April 2020 survey of health professionals in Spain found that about three-fifths of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety (59%) and / or post-traumatic stress disorder (57%), and about half (46%) had symptoms of depression. In England (UK), nearly half of those who responded to the NHS (National Health Service) staff survey (44%) reported feeling unwell due to work-related stress over the previous year, a 9% increase over 2019. "
The pandemic also causes an increase in health care spending
The pandemic triggered an increase in health spending in many of the organization's 38 member countries, according to the report.
"The covid-19 pandemic has caused a sharp increase in health spending across the OECD. Along with reductions in economic activity, the average ratio of health spending to GDP (gross domestic product) jumped from 8, 8% in 2019 to 9.7% in 2020, in OECD countries with available data.
"Countries severely affected by the pandemic reported unprecedented increases. The UK estimated an increase from 10.2% in 2019 to 12.8% in 2020, while Slovenia anticipated that its share of health spending would rise from 8.5% % to more than 10%, "the report reads.
The proportion for the US was the highest for the entire OECD by far in 2019, at 16.8% of GDP, but no figure was available for 2020. "With the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, initial data for 2020 point to a sharp increase in overall healthcare spending, of around 5.1% on average, "the report says.
And the US remained at the top of the pack in terms of overall health spending.
"The United States spends considerably more than any other country (almost US $ 11,000 per person, adjusted for purchasing power, in 2019)," the report says.
For comparison, Japan spends an average of $ 4,691 per person on healthcare and the United Kingdom spends $ 4,500.
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Per capita health care spending is also high in Switzerland, Norway, and Germany.
Seven countries spend much less per person on average on health care, but have an above-average life expectancy, the report noted.
"These seven countries are Italy, Korea, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Greece and Israel," the report reads.
"The only country in the lower right quadrant is the United States, with much higher spending than all other OECD countries, but lower life expectancy than the OECD average."
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