Determinants of Life Expectancy at Birth: OECD Example During the Pandemic Period
Abstract
O T Ridvan
Background/Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate the factors affecting life expectancy at birth in OECD countries during the pandemic period.
Materials and methods: Data for 28 OCED countries were collected in OECD glance statistics for the latest year. The dependent variable is life expectancy at birth, the independent variables are; health expenditures, coverage of health insurance, number of doctors, number of patient beds, smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity/overweight, air pollution, effective primary care, effective preventive care, effective secondary care it is included as. Mean, standard deviation and extreme value analyses were made and the suitability of the data for normal distribution was evaluated with the Shapiro-Wilks test and Skewness and Kurtosis values. Spearman correlation and linear regression were used to evaluate the relationship between variables.
Results: In the Spearman correlation analysis, there was a significant negative relationships between life expectancy at birth and effective primary care (-.401 p<0.05), effective secondary care (stroke) (-.588 p<0.01), alcohol consumption (-.511 p<0.01), air pollution (-.538 p<0.01), and with obesity (-.436 p<0.05) was detected. When effective primary care, effective secondary care, air pollution and obesity are included in the model together, the prediction of life expectancy at birth in the model is statistically significant (F=16.685 P<0.01). The model explains 74% of the variance in life expectancy at birth (R square = .744).
Conclusion: In the study where the factors affecting life expectancy at birth were evaluated in OECD countries during the pandemic period, effective primary care and effective secondary care were found to be factors affecting life expectancy at birth. Management of life-threatening diseases, especially respiratory diseases, appears to affect life expectancy at birth. Air pollution can also be considered in this context. Alcohol consumption and obesity also stand out in this sense. When planning health policies, managing factors that threaten public health comes to the fore.