COVID-19 deaths take over 10 years of life lost per person: Researchers say

Coronavirus is killing people more than a decade before they would have died naturally, according to a study.

Men who die of Covid-19 are losing, on average, 13 years of their lives, scientists said, while women have 11 years cut off their life expectancy.

A team of researches at the University of Glasgow has taken analysis beyond the number of deaths and looked at how it will impact humanity in the long run, according to local media.

In an analysis published on Thursday, they say the number of years of life lost per person appears to be similar to diseases such as coronary heart disease.

"As most people dying with Covid-19 are older with underlying chronic conditions, some have speculated that the impact of the condition may have been overstated and that the actual number of years of life lost as a result of Covid-19 are relatively low," explains Dr. David McAllister, who is leading the research team.

"This new analysis found that death from Covid-19 results in over ten years of life lost per person, even after taking account of the typical number and type of chronic conditions found in people dying of Covid-19.

"Among people dying of Covid-19, the number of years of life lost per person appear similar to diseases such as coronary heart disease."

They say this information is important as it ensures governments and the public to not wrongly underestimate the effects of Covid-19 on individuals.

The study reports estimated years of life lost due to COVID-19, before and after adjustment for number and type of chronic conditions.

To conduct the research, the team took information from Italy on the age at which people with Covid-19 died, and the number and type of chronic conditions they had.

This was then compared with the World Health Organization life tables, UK healthcare database, and other data to estimate how long people with these characteristics might otherwise have been expected to live.