• Last updated: Fri, Nov 3, 2023Status: Ongoing
• Olle Lundberg, Olof Östergren, Adam Altmejd, Marcus Ebeling, and Karin Modig

Inequalities in mortality going in and out of the pandmic: The contribution of age and cause of death to changes in life expectancy by education during 2015-2022.

Life expectancy in Sweden decreased between 2019 and 2020 from 84.7 to 84.3 years for women and from 81.3 to 80.6 for men. Between 2020 and 2021, life expectancy increased to 84.8 years among women and 81.2 years among men. The loss of life expectancy in 2020 was largely recovered in 2021 and among women, life expectancy in 2021 was higher than before the pandemic. However, both the decrease in life expectancy and the recovery in 2021 differed by educational attainment. Individuals with low education experienced a more dramatic decline in life expectancy and a more modest recovery.

This project aims to expand the knowledge on trends in life expectancy by education during the different phases of the pandemic. Specifically, we will examine the contribution of different ages and causes of death to educational differences in trends in life expectancy and excess mortality during 2015-2022. We will also examine specific causes of death that may have been indirectly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions targeted at reducing the spread of COVID-19, such as respiratory infections and traffic accidents, and how life expectancy differences relate to vaccine uptake in the different groups.