Coronavirus reduced the life expectancy of Latinos in the United States by three years | The State
The analysis was prepared by the University of Southern California.
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ETIENNE LAURENT / EFE
The life expectancy of Latinos decreased by 3.05 years and stood at 78.77 years due to the high incidence of the coronavirus pandemic in this community, according to a study presented this Thursday.
The analysis prepared by the University of Southern California (USC) found that the pandemic also reduced the life expectancy of African Americans by 2.1 years, who are left with an average of 72.78 years.
For non-Hispanic whites, life expectancy also decreased, but in a much lower proportion, from only 0.61 years and to an expected average of 77.84 years.
“The disproportionate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life expectancy of Latinos and African Americans probably has to do with increased exposure through their workplaces or contacts with extended family,” he noted Theresa Andrasfay, author of the study.
Andrasfay, member of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, considers that these two factors are added to “receiving a poorer health service, which leads to more infections and worse results.”
The especially devastating effect of the pandemic on Latinos, who have a higher life expectancy than non-Hispanic whites – a phenomenon known as the “Latino Paradox” – led to them losing “the survival advantage of more than three years” that now it is reduced to less than a year, highlights the report.
“This large decrease in the life expectancy of Latinos is especially shocking considering that they have lower rates than the Whites and African Americans in most chronic conditions that are risk factors for COVID 19, ″ said Noreen Goldman, co-author of the report.
Largest reduction in both Latinos and African Americans, is due in part “to the disproportionate number of deaths at young ages in these groups,” added Goldman, a professor of Demography and Public Affairs at Harvard University.
The researcher concluded that the results of the study show the need to “protective behaviors and programs to reduce exposure to potential viral risk among younger people who may not perceive themselves as being at high risk ”.
The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) used information from the Institute for Health Assessment and Measurement, and compared the life expectancy of the US population at birth and at age 65, in models with and without coronavirus.
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