The impact of COVID-19 on diseases of despair.

AuthorZyl, Nico Van
Position[GUEST ARTICLE]

* Understandably, there has been a focus in medicine and among governments on dealing with the devastating impact of the pandemic. However, there is less comment about the psychological effects of social isolation, the tsunami of grief as people cope with losses - all dovetailing with financial chaos, unemployment, and business closures. So how might all of this fuel a rise in diseases of despair? And what are the considerations for the insurance market on possible impacts on claims?

WHAT ARE DISEASES OF DESPAIR?

In 2015, economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton revealed their analysis of US mortality trends between 1983-2013, divulging shocking results. Historically, mortality trends were improving, but for certain groups - particularly white middle-aged Americans without a university education - the reverse was true. These results showed that, for the first time in a century, mortality rates were rising. Case and Deaton attributed this increase to rises in 'diseases of despair' - deaths and ill-health caused by drug poisoning, particularly opioid-related abuse, alongside rises in alcoholic liver disease and suicide.

MENTAL HEALTH

Mental health, encompassing depression and anxiety as well as other conditions, has understandably seen an impact in correlation to the pandemic - and this is the same for many regions around the globe.

While initially, the UK Mental Health Foundation reported that in August 2020, 64% of people were coping well or very well with the pandemic, this rate of 'resilience' appeared to diminish with time, falling to its lowest level in late November 2020. More so, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) COVID-19 study shows a rate of moderate-severe depression at 19.2% versus a rate of 9.7% in the 9 months before the pandemic onset. Still, it is notable to mention that the University College London's COVID-19 Social Study shows an overall conclusion of a decrease in depression and anxiety scores, a pattern repeated across every subgroup.

This is a just glimpse of various mental health research efforts carried out during the COVID-era, but the extent of the impact so far remains unclear, and the effects on mental health and wellbeing are likely to continue to make themselves known over time.

SUICIDE

The impact of the pandemic on suicide and suicidal thoughts, the most severe indicator of psychological hardship, is also starting to emerge.

In the UK, the Mental Health Foundation survey indicated that 8% of respondents felt...

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