Trends in 'Deaths of Despair' in Europe during Covid-19 – Not Just an American Phenomenon

Ronny Westerman , Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Germany
Michael Muehlichen, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

'Deaths of despair’ as an important topic in public-health research is almost exclusively described as a US phenomenon, although similar patterns were observed in many European countries before the Covid-19 pandemic. While massive restrictions imposed by public authorities may worsen mental health at the individual level, ‘deaths of despair’ may also have increased in Europe during the pandemic. For the data analysis, we used official mortality information from Eurostat and CDC Wonder. In contrast to the United States, ‘deaths of despair’ in all European countries were dominated by the increase in alcohol-related deaths. Drug-related deaths were less common in Europe than in the United States. Suicides also increased slightly in many European countries during the Covid-19 period. The level, composition and trend of ‘deaths of despair’ differ substantially between the United States and many European countries, thus highlighting the need for intensified public-health surveillance of such deaths.

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 Presented in Session 87. Mortality Trends and Risk Factors