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Population age structure only partially explains the large number of COVID-19 deaths at the oldest ages

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony Medford

    (Syddansk Universitet)

  • Sergi Trias-Llimós

    (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

Abstract

Background: To date, any attention paid to the age shape of COVID-19 deaths has been mostly in relation to understanding the differences in case fatality rates between countries. Objective: We explore differences in the age distribution of deaths from COVID-19 among six European countries which have old age structures. We do this by way of a cross-country comparison and put forward some reasons for potential differences. Methods: We estimate the distribution of deaths by 10-year age groups and the counterfactual age distribution under the assumption that all populations had the age structure of Italy. For this, we use 10-year age-grouped COVID-19 death counts and the corresponding population exposures for France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and China. Results: All included European countries experienced a high proportion of deaths at older ages. The relative proportion of deaths at ages above 90 years is lowest in Italy when compared to the other countries in the study despite Italy having the oldest population in Europe. Contribution: Population age structure seems essential for understanding COVID-19-related mortality, but other factors may play an important role, particularly at older ages in European populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony Medford & Sergi Trias-Llimós, 2020. "Population age structure only partially explains the large number of COVID-19 deaths at the oldest ages," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(19), pages 533-544.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:43:y:2020:i:19
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.19
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christian Dudel & Timothy Riffe & Enrique Acosta & Alyson A. van Raalte & Cosmo Strozza & Mikko Myrskylä, 2020. "Monitoring trends and differences in COVID-19 case-fatality rates using decomposition methods: contributions of age structure and age-specific fatality," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2020-020, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    2. Jennifer Beam Dowd & Liliana Andriano & David M. Brazel & Valentina Rotondi & Per Block & Xuejie Ding & Yan Liu & Melinda C. Mills, 2020. "Demographic science aids in understanding the spread and fatality rates of COVID-19," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(18), pages 9696-9698, May.
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    Cited by:

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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