Estimating Years of Life Lost due to COVID-19 over the first two years of the pandemic in Cyprus: comparisons across areas, age, and sex

Charalampous, P., Haagsma, J. A., Cuschieri, S., Devleesschauwer, B., Pires, S. M., Polinder, S., Wyper, G. M.A. , Hatziyianni, A. and Pallari, E. (2023) Estimating Years of Life Lost due to COVID-19 over the first two years of the pandemic in Cyprus: comparisons across areas, age, and sex. Discover Health Systems, 2(1), 35. (doi: 10.1007/s44250-023-00051-9)

Abstract

Knowledge about the extent of the COVID-19 mortality burden is important to inform policy-making decisions. To gain greater insights into the population health impact of COVID-19 mortality, Years of Life Lost (YLL) can be estimated. We aimed to determine YLL linked to COVID-19 over the first two years (March 2020–March 2022) of the pandemic in Cyprus, by areas, and by age and sex. COVID-19 YLL was estimated by multiplying COVID-19 mortality counts by age-conditional life expectancy from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease life table. COVID-19 accounted for 16,704 YLL over the first two years of the pandemic—approximately 18.5 years lost per individual who died due to COVID-19 and 1881 YLL per 100,000 population. YLL per 100,000 was higher among males compared to females (2485 versus 1303 per 100,000) and higher among older than younger individuals. COVID-19 deaths and YLL per 100,000 were higher in high population-dense areas of Cyprus, such as Limassol. Continued evaluations of COVID-19 YLL are needed to inform on the proportionate population impact of COVID-19, over time and across areas of Cyprus.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Wyper, Dr Grant
• Authors: Charalampous, P., Haagsma, J. A., Cuschieri, S., Devleesschauwer, B., Pires, S. M., Polinder, S., Wyper, G. M.A., Hatziyianni, A., and Pallari, E.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
• Journal Name: Discover Health Systems
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• ISSN: 2731-7501
• ISSN (Online): 2731-7501
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s) 2023
• First Published: First published in Discover Health Systems 2(1):35
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license