Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credits: Estelle Ruiz / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 16:17 pm, June 07, 2023
According to INSEE, 675,000 people died in France in 2022, 53,800 more deaths than expected, given the age of the population and trends recorded over the previous 10 or 15 years. For the Institute, Covid-19 is not enough to explain this excess mortality.INSEE noted the persistence of a clear excess mortality in France in 2022 compared to a "normal" year (excluding epidemic or unusual event), which Covid is not enough to explain, according to figures published Tuesday by the Institute of Statistics. For INSEE, 675,000 people died in France in 2022, 53,800 more deaths than expected, given the age of the population and trends recorded over the previous 10 or 15 years.
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The deviation from the forecast (+8.7%) is higher than that seen in 2021 (+6.9%) and 2020 (+7.8%) – the year when the Covid epidemic exploded. However, Covid-19 has killed significantly less in 2022, with 38,300 deaths compared to 59,100 in 2021, according to figures from Public Health France.
Indirect effects due to Covid-19
"Deaths due to causes other than Covid-19 have therefore increased," says INSEE, which mentions "the two influenza epidemics" in March-April and December 2022, and also the high temperatures during the summer of 2022. "Finally, the Covid 19 epidemic has been able to lead since 2020 to an increase in deaths due to indirect effects, such as postponements of operations or decreases in screening for other diseases," says INSEE.
The French population may also be facing a more structural evolution, with a brake on the gains in life expectancy that were observed each year, explains INSEE. "There may also be an interruption or pause" in the downward trend in mortality "but without it being possible yet to identify it," says the institute.