Selected aspects of mortality in Czechia and Slovakia in the pandemic year 2020.

Objective: The aim was to analyse the mortality trends in Czechia and Slovakia through detailed anonymized primary data on deaths in 2010-2020 and in particular to identify various aspects of the impact of the 2020 pandemic year in their context.

Methods: Using the DeRaS application, complete life tables by sex for 2010-2020 were constructed for Czechia and Slovakia, and changes in life expectancy at birth and at the exact age of 65 years were analysed. Using Pressat's univariate decomposition, the effect of different age groups on the change in life expectancy at birth for men and women between 2019 and 2020 was identified. Subsequently, age group contributions to the decline in temporary life expectancy between the exact ages of 65 and 110 were also determined. Trends in mortality rates for each of the major cause of death groups were analysed using directly standardized mortality rates, with a detailed focus on selected groups of cardiovascular disease. The contributions of the major cause of death groups to the decline in life expectancy at birth between 2019 and 2020 were empirically identified by applying bivariate decomposition according to the Pollard method.

Results: In 2020, the life expectancy of newly born men in Czechia decreased by 1.05 years and that of women by 0.76 years. In Slovakia, the decrease was 0.67 years for men and 0.64 years for women. An even greater reduction was found for both countries at the exact age of 65. The main reason for this was the worsening of the mortality rates between the ages of 65 and 89 years, especially from COVID-19 and some diseases of the circulatory system.

Conclusion: The study identified a significant reduction in life expectancy at birth for both men and women in Czechia and Slovakia between 2019 and 2020. The main reason for this phenomenon was the increase in mortality rates at senior ages, up to around age 90. However, the increase in mortality did not affect all age groups, but contributions at younger ages could not significantly compensate for the negative impact of older ages. The study confirmed mortality from COVID-19 as a major factor in declining life expectancy at birth but also noted a non-negligible effect of the worsened mortality rates from circulatory diseases. The negative impact of both groups of causes of death was particularly pronounced at the age of 65 and over.