<Anchor> It



is a friendly economy time.

Today (7th), I will be with reporter Kwon Ae-ri.

How long will people live in the future and what diseases to watch out for in our country is investigated and announced once a year, and the results of the survey came out?



<Reporter>



Yes, it is called life expectancy.



This indicator is the basis for the country's health policy, and it is this indicator that insurers use when calculating insurance premiums or advertising to get insurance. .



you're right.

That's right.

This time, the expected increase in the lifespan of Koreans in the future is a record short.



The criteria are babies born in the last year.

They predicted that these babies would live an average of 83.6 years.



It was only about a month higher than the forecast a year ago.

Stasis.

In the last 50 years, only 2018 has been this much stagnant.



In fact, the stagnation in 2018 was even worse.

It only lasted for about two and a half weeks.



I don't know if you remember back then, but it was a very cold winter.

If the day is cold, you really have to be careful about your health and going out.



There are times when people say things like “I think I’m going to go to Sanggat’s house often these days.”

Because that's right.

The number of deaths is actually the highest during the holiday season like these days. 



In 2018, there were more obituaries in the winter because of the record-breaking cold wave.



So at that time, the life expectancy predicted by the life expectancy and health conditions of Koreans hardly increased.

This is the second-largest increase in history.



<Anchor>



Then, if the increase in life expectancy this year is so small, the reason that comes to mind right now is Corona.

does it have an impact? 



[Reporter



] Yes, that's right.

It's because of COVID-19.

When looking at diseases that could cause death, the proportion of deaths due to infectious diseases increased.

it comes out like this



When the National Statistical Office inquired with the department in charge of this survey, they explained that this was a figure that almost entirely reflected the situation caused by Corona 19.



Besides, this result came out as of 2021.

This year's Corona 19 situation has not yet been reflected.



So, although I'm cautious, I'm already guessing that the predicted life expectancy of Koreans, which will be announced in a year, won't increase very much.



It's the same all over the world, but the big damage that corona has left to our national health is starting to stand out even in this macro statistics.



<Anchor>



So, from this year to next year.

(It will come out at the end of next year.) The impact of corona will surely be known by statistics next year.

I have another question.

Is the difference in life expectancy between men and women still large?

How is it?



<Reporter>



Yes, it is.

Still, the gap that once stretched for nearly nine years is getting smaller.



In the last 5 years, it has been hovering around the 6-year gap.



There are many reasons, but the gap in smoking rates between men and women is steadily narrowing, and the atmosphere that pays more attention to health care seems to have helped, but the life span between men and women in Korea is still larger than the OECD average.



Then, what can men pay more attention to? One of the most important things that can be guessed from this life table is smoking.



The odds of dying from lung cancer and pneumonia are markedly and noticeably higher in men than in women for both.



Conversely, if the gap in smoking rates between men and women continues to narrow in the future, as is the recent trend, it can be assumed that it will help men's life expectancy increase.



However, when we talk about whether we should live long or live well, this is what comes to mind right away.



The latest survey related to this was the one that came out together with the announcement of the life expectancy survey just one year ago.

It's mid to late 60's.



Why did I say that I was shorter than we expected? When I subjectively thought that I would still be healthy by this time, the expected age was in my early 70s.



After all, Koreans get sick sooner than expected, and the probability of entering an unhealthy life is currently quite high.



I'm sorry for telling you a sad story this morning, but when statistics like this come out, it would be nice to think about how to take care of your health and how to prepare for your retirement.