A new study warns of an epidemic of deaths of despair.

A new study published by researchers in the US warns that COVID-19 could lead to an unprecedented increase in ‘deaths of despair’ — a term used to describe deaths due to drug or alcohol abuse and suicide. 

The new report, from the Well Being Trust and researchers affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians, estimates that tens of thousands of people will die over the next 10 years as society grapples with the economic and social fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The report combines information on deaths of despair in 2018 (nearly 182,000 people) with projected unemployment levels from 2020 to 2029, and economic modeling.

It estimates that a very slow recovery combined with massive rates of unemployment could result in more than 150,000 deaths of despair over the next 10 years.  

Initial indications suggest a less catastrophic outcome, but the researchers believe it is very likely that we will see around  75,000 additional deaths. 

“[Social] isolation is causing people to lose boundaries on their behaviors,” Benjamin Miller, one of the study authors, told CBS News. 

For example, with social norms on the back burner, some people are doing things they wouldn't normally — like drinking in the middle of the day. If that becomes a habit during social isolation, it may be hard to break and could lead to alcohol abuse and possibly later health problems.

“One of the main things people should take away from this paper is that employment matters,” Miller said. “It matters for our economic livelihood, and for our mental and emotional health.”
The best way to combat deaths of despair, the researchers suggest,  is to supply people with effective mental health treatment and support resources.

“If COVID-19 has highlighted anything about our current delivery system, it’s that asking people to come to a clinic or a hospital is not always the best approach. Policies that support creative opportunities for care delivered at home, virtually or in-person will provide comfort and safety,” the report authors suggest.

It is also vitally important to reintegrate people into the workforce. “People have to be working and we have to get people connected to other people,” Miller said. 

Xavier Symons is deputy editor of BioEdge 

COVID pandemic could lead to unprecedented increase in deaths of despair
Xavier Symons
Creative commons
https://www.bioedge.org/images/2008images/ben-hershey-8-fHqPCNy4c-unsplash_(1).jpg
coronavirus
covid-19
pandemics
suicide

• Author
• Recent Posts

Xavier Symons

Xavier Symons is a bioethicist and scholar in residence at the Kennedy Institute for Ethics at Georgetown University.

Latest posts by Xavier Symons (see all)

• Can machines be moral? - March 7, 2021
• Can we synthesise Christianity moral theology with secular bioethics? - November 28, 2020
• Euthanasia polling data may fail to capture people’s considered views - August 15, 2020