– 2022 has been a busy year. In some regions, we have had an increase in the number of assignments of over 20 per cent, says Runar Løvaas. Bureau manager Runar Løvaas at Jølstad funeral agency in Drammen. Photo: Jan-Erik Wilthil / news He is the bureau manager at Jølstad funeral home in Drammen, and notices the tragic consequences of the pandemic on a daily basis. – We have pick-ups around the clock. We do not get to know the cause of death, but are informed if it is an infection. There is a lot of that, says Løvaas. He doesn’t think the situation will improve anytime soon. – The forecasts we have received show that we can expect a higher death rate in Norway, says Løvaas. Probably among the most common causes of death. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health’s statistics on causes of death for 2022 have not been completed, but it is already clear that covid-19 will rank high on the list of the diseases that claimed the most lives. – With a high probability, covid-19 will be among the most common causes of death in 2022, but still at a lower level than other lung diseases other than covid-19 and dementia, says senior physician Marianne Sørlie Strøm at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. She emphasizes that most of the people who died were older. At the same time, it is clear that younger age groups are also affected. A total of 3,417 deaths were registered where covid-19 was the underlying or contributing cause of death. This figure could be even higher, because all deaths have not yet been registered. Until mid-November last year, 81 percent of these had covid-19 as the underlying cause of death. If this is used as a starting point for the whole of 2022, we end up with an estimate of 2,767 deaths, where covid-19 was the most important factor leading to death. Compared to figures from 2021, covid-19 ranks as the fifth most common cause of death. The two major public diseases cancer and cardiovascular disease top the list by a clear margin. This is followed by other lung diseases and dementia. The cause of death register for 2022 is expected to be completed in June. According to FHI, preliminary figures do not indicate major changes in other important groups of causes of death, compared to the years before the pandemic. Affects life expectancy The coronavirus has thus established itself as a clear threat to public health in record time. To put it in perspective: almost as many people died from covid-19 last year as from dementia the year before. In comparison, 1,595 died of acute heart attacks in 2021. 80 people lost their lives in traffic. Recently, FHI presented calculations showing an excess mortality of 7 percent last year, which amounts to 2,700 deaths. Most of them as a result of covid-19. Demographer Anders Sønstebø at Statistics Norway. Photo: per kristian lie lowe / Private The figures are noticed by Statistics Norway. Demographer Anders Sønstebø is working on calculating life expectancy for Norwegians. In recent years, the arrows have pointed in one direction. Now he may have to do something that hasn’t been done in 25 years. – I think that we may have to adjust life expectancy for both sexes down in 2022, says Sønstebø. He does not want to speculate on how big a possible decline will be. In the US, which was hit much harder by the pandemic, life expectancy has been reduced by almost two years since 2019. Nakstad: Was expected – It has been expected that covid-19 will end up high on the list of causes of death in Norway in 2022, even though the proportion of infected people who became seriously ill or died last year was lower than ever before in the pandemic, says Assistant Director of Health Espen Rostrup Nakstad in the Directorate of Health. – In light of the high death toll, was it right to remove all the measures? – Infectious diseases are a common cause of death among the oldest in a population, and unfortunately difficult to avoid in a society where infection control measures have been removed and people live more or less normally. Assistant director of health Espen Rostrup Nakstad. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news Nakstad believes that there is little that can be done now that most people have been vaccinated, and antibody treatment has been established in hospitals. – There is little else to do but to show consideration for the most vulnerable citizens by following the current advice on hygiene, and staying at home when sick, says Nakstad. Monitors late effects In addition to all deaths, one in five infected people is affected by long covid. Thousands of Norwegians struggle with after-effects for more than 12 weeks after the infection. Several suffer from memory loss, fatigue and a reduced ability to concentrate. Many of them will be on long-term sick leave. Several research studies also point to the fact that covid-19 can cause serious late effects such as heart disease and stroke. – This is something people are interested in in research environments around the world, and which we are following closely. Infections create an inflammation in the body that is important for the development of disease in the blood vessels. Currently, we do not have good documentation that covid-19 has caused more heart disease in Norway, says Nakstad. He is not surprised that life expectancy may be adjusted downwards. – We had under-mortality in 2020-21 and expect excess mortality in 2022. It is not unnatural that life expectancy is affected by a pandemic. It will probably happen in most countries, but hopefully only to a small extent for Norway.
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Covid-19 probably among the most common causes of death in 2022 – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
