the times | Wednesday November 10 2021 13News
The pandemic reduced life expectancy
in Britain to what it was in 2010,
according to a report comparing
national healthcare systems.
The Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD)
said that last year life expectancy fell in
24 out of 30 countries, driven by coro-
navirus deaths. The drop of a year in
Britain — from 81.4 years in 2019 to 80.
years in 2020 — was among the worst.
The average reduction across OECD
countries was 0.6 years, with the biggest
fall, 1.6 years, in the United States.
The OECD’s Health at a Glance 2021
report noted that life expectancy had
returned to roughly 2010 levels in
Britain, Italy, Poland and Spain. Only
Norway, Japan, Costa Rica, Denmark,
Finland and Latvia did not experience a
drop.
The study also shows that Britain had
the second lowest rate of hospital beds
and doctors in Europe, at three doctors
and 2.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
In Europe only Poland had fewer
doctors, with 2.4 per 1,000, and only
Sweden had fewer beds, with 2.1.
The OECD average for doctors is 3.
and for beds it is 4.4. Both are rising.
Health chiefs acknowledge that Brit-
ain is short of beds but see a shortage of
trained staff as a bigger problem. Sajid
Javid, the health secretary, admitted
last week that the government was on
course to miss its target of 6,000 more
GPs in England by 2024.
The OECD warned of a persistent
worldwide shortage of health workers
and said that the pandemic had empha-
sised “the importance of investing
more in the years ahead on improving
primary care and disease prevention
and strengthening the resilience and
preparedness of health systems”.
The average health spending byOECD nations rose from 8.8 per cent of
GDP in 2019 to 9.7 per cent last year.
For Britain it rose from 10.2 per cent to
12.8 per cent, the 12th highest rate
among the 30 countries.
The report also highlighted rising
mental health problems in the UK, with
an estimated 20 per cent of the adult
population suffering from anxiety or
depression compared with 10 per cent
pre-pandemic.
Britain fared worse than the OECD
average for Covid-19 deaths, the report
found, with 2,232 per million people,
behind only Hungary, the Czech
Republic and Slovenia.
It was highlighted as a country where
the pandemic’s impact on deaths in
older age groups had been “particularly
high”, with more than 2.5 per cent of
those aged over 80 dying in Britain, the
US, Slovenia and Belgium. On excess
deaths, which can be measured more
consistently, the UK fared better.Pandemic anxiety linked
to memory loss in over-50s
Kat LayOlder people whose levels of anxiety
and depression jumped during the cor-
onavirus pandemic experienced a de-
cline in their short-term memory
equivalent to six years of natural age-
ing, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of
Exeter and King’s College London also
reported a decline in over-50s’ attention
spans equivalent to five years of ageing.
The findings, reported at the Clinical
Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease confer-
ence, were based on 6,300 people taking
part in an online study called Protect.
They filled in lifestyle questionnaires
and took part in cognitive tests over a
five-year period, allowing researchers
to pinpoint the impact of the pandemic.
Dr Helen Brooker, of the University
of Exeter, who led the research, said:
“We found that people who were more
anxious and depressed during 2019-
also saw their short-term memory and
ability to focus worsen, by the equiva-
lent of five to six years of what we’d ex-
pect to see from natural ageing.
“It’s likely that key factors were the
unprecedented impact of worsening
mental health caused by widespreadanxiety over the pandemic, and long
periods of lockdown. We need to under-
stand this better so we can create effec-
tive strategies to support people.”
The study measured participants’
levels of depression and anxiety on
scales commonly used by health clinics,
and researchers said there had been a
“significant shift” in the number of
people scoring higher than previously.
The largest dips in memory and at-
tention were in people whose scores in-
dicated moderate or higher levels of
anxiety and depression.
Professor Dame Til Wykes, head of
the school of mental health and psy-
chological sciences at King’s, who was
not involved in the study, said that men-
tal health problems could often lead to
a decline in thinking skills, so the find-
ing was unsurprising. She added: “The
important issue is what happens as
these mental health problems reduce.
Do we see improvements in memory or
are they more permanent?”
She also warned that the study might
underestimate the effect of reduced
mental stimulation and physical exer-
cise during lockdowns because the par-
ticipants all had access to the internet
and were engaged with the study.Carnaby Street is still the height of fashion. But for at least one visitor yesterday a surgical mask was still de rigueurfrance
Over-65s need boosters to qualify
for the Covid-19 pass that allows
people to go into restaurants and
bars as well as intercity trains, buses
and aircraft, President Macron has
announced. He used a television
address to alert the country to a
looming fifth wave and lay out
what sounded like a pitch for his
re-election in April, spending much
of his talk listing his achievements.
He also urged six million
unvaccinated adults to accept jabs.china
The city of Heihe is offering
100,000 yuan (about £11,600) for
anyone who can help to trace the
source of its latest outbreak, as part
of a “people’s war” to stamp out a
resurgence.russia
Russia said the workplace shutdown
it ended this week had helped to
turn the tide on a wave of cases,singapore
A court stayed the execution of
Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, 33,
a Malaysian man who has learning
disabilities, after he tested positive
for coronavirus.even as officials reported the largest
one-day death toll yesterday. On
Monday all but a handful of regions
ended a “non-working” period from
October 30 to November 7 that had
been ordered by President Putin.Boosters are
needed to go
to French bars
Global cases
250,368,Global deaths
5,055,Countries reporting most deaths
US
Brazil
India
Mexico
Russia
Peru
UK1 2 3 4 5 6 8
755,
609,
461,
289,
243,
200,
142,Most new cases
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
US
Russia
UK
Turkey
Belgium
Germany
Hungary125,
38,
33,
27,
24,
23,
17,World update
Deaths per million population( 16 )
( 13 )
( 7 )
( 10 )
( 14 )
( 5 )
( 24 )
( 31 )
( 40 )
( 23 )
( 11 )
( 6 )
( 4 )
( 9 )1 ,23 4
1 ,
1 , 431
1 ,
1 , 296
1,5 23
1 ,0 48
949
797
1 , 057
1, 309
1 , 460
1 , 555
1 ,Rank Now Jan 31
6,
3,
3,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
1,Peru
Bulgaria
Bosnia & H.
N. Macedonia
Hungary
Czech Rep
Brazil
Romania
Georgia
Argentina
US
Italy
UK
Spain
Croatia1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910
15
21
23
27
Data supplied by Johns Hopkins University. US data
fluctuates because of irregular reporting by different
states. Figures as of 6pm yesterday. Sources: UK
government, Our World in Data, selected countriesNews
will drive out 73,000, Javid told
Life expectancy falls
to lowest in a decade
Kat Lay Health Editor The vaccination race
Percentage of population who have
received at least one vaccine dose
(total doses administered in brackets)
UAE 96.8% (21.1m)Portugal 88.6% (16.2m)
Malta 83.6% (880k)Spain 81.4% (71.9m)Canada 78.4% (58.8m)Italy 77.3% (89.9m)
N Zealand 76.5% (6.9m)France 75.7% (98.8m)Brazil 74.4% (272.7m)Australia 74. 5% (35.9m)UK 73.6% (106.7m)Daily
(Nov 8)
First dose
33,Boosters
in UK
(daily)
277,First dose
50.3m
Second
45.9mSecond
20,UK total
10,580,People
vaccinated
in UKTIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL