Posted Dec 5, 2022 at 4:32 p.m. Updated Dec 5, 2022 at 4:49 p.m
The Covid pandemic has had multiple and very sensitive effects on the health of Europeans. This is shown by a report published on Monday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) entitled “Health Panorama: Europe 2022”. The French were badly affected. A review of the main findings of this study in six points.
1. An explosion in healthcare spending
The pandemic has led to a sharp increase in healthcare spending in Europe. In France, they rose by 8.5% in real terms in 2021. This is the strongest growth in 30 years.
This increase is mainly due to the reinforcement of the screening campaign and the start of the vaccination campaign against Covid. The increase in hospital costs and urban care is also highlighted.
Health expenditure as a share of GDP thus fell from 11.1% in 2019 to 12.2% in 2020 and 12.4% in 2021. While the trend is similar in most European countries, France has the second highest share of healthcare expenditure in GDP in 2020 and 2021 after Germany among all EU countries.
2. A decrease in life expectancy
The Covid caused life expectancy to drop by more than a year in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is the biggest drop in most EU countries since World War II. By the end of October 2022, more than 1.1 million deaths from Covid had been registered in the 27 EU countries.
In detail, France, with 171,000 deaths, is the second most affected country after Italy. However, life expectancy in France was less affected than at the European level. It has thus fallen by 0.5 years between 2019 and 2021. In Central and Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria (-3.7 years), Slovakia (-3 years) and Romania (-2.7 years), the impact of Covid on life expectancy was significantly stronger. .
3. A strong impact on young people’s mental health
During the pandemic, as in most other European countries, the mental health of the French population has deteriorated. Young people were hardest hit. The proportion of young people aged 18-24 in France reporting symptoms of depression was on average twice as high during the pandemic (20%) as before the pandemic (10%).
The latest figures show no improvement. In September 2022, the proportion of young people with symptoms of depression was twice as high as before the pandemic. Adults are not spared either. In France, depression symptoms among adults peaked at over 20% during the lockdown, falling to 15% in May 2022. This rate remains higher than before the pandemic (13.5%).
4. A decrease in physical activity
The pandemic has also affected the physical activity of the French. A survey conducted among 4,000 adults during their first confinement in April 2020 found that 45% of them reported a reduction in physical activity and 59% an increase in screen consumption.
The youngest are also affected by the containment measures and their relationship with food has changed. In a survey in France, 42% of parents said their children asked for food more often, sometimes out of boredom.
5. Impact on the organization of care
The pandemic has also disrupted the delivery of primary health care, cancer screening and treatment programs, continuity of care for people with chronic conditions, and elective surgery. In Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Belgium, France and Denmark, more than 40% of people with a chronic illness reported that treatment had been canceled or postponed.
On the bright side, however, teleconsultation in many countries has at least partially offset the decline in in-person medical consultations during the pandemic.
6. Flu shot up and down
Finally, the epidemic has fueled an increase in seasonal flu vaccinations among people aged 65 and over. The 2020-2021 campaign saw an 8 percentage point increase compared to 2019-2020. The vaccination rate at that time was 60%. This level of coverage was maintained throughout the 2021-2022 campaign.
On the other hand, there are concerns about the current campaign, which began on October 18th. A much slower start was observed, raising fears of a return to pre-pandemic coverage levels, ie around 50%. The coverage rate in France would thus deviate from the WHO recommendations. The institution sets the threshold for seasonal influenza vaccination coverage for at-risk individuals at 75%.