Arab Spring has shortened life expectancy in 22 countries – Lancet study The ongoing civil war in Syria has erased six years off male life expectancy while the Arab Spring has also […]

The ongoing civil war in Syria has erased six years off male life expectancy while the Arab Spring has also resulted in shortened lifespan in more than 20 countries, a major new study reveals.

Conflicts in Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt since 2010 threaten to jeopardise health gains over past two decades and will have impact on the region for many years, the authors write – and has probably already worsened.

“Life expectancy decline is traditionally regarded as a sign that the health and social systems are failing.” The i newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. Professor Ali Mokdad, University of Washington, Seattle

There are 22 countries affected in the eastern Mediterranean region according to the new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013, published in The Lancet Global Health journal.

Between 2010 and 2013, Yemen, Tunisia, and Egypt lost about three months of life expectancy, while men in Syria had been expected to live to around 75 in 2010, that has fallen to about 69 years.

For Syrian women, average life expectancy dropped from about 80 to 75 years over the same period.

“Life expectancy decline is traditionally regarded as a sign that the health and social systems are failing,” said Professor Ali Mokdad, from the University of Washington, Seattle, who led the research. “The fact that this is happening in several countries indicates there is an immediate need to invest in health care systems.”

Infant mortality rates rising

The study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, reveals that many of the health gains achieved by countries in the region are at risk of slowing down. For example, there is now evidence that infant mortality rates are rising in some countries.

Most strikingly in Syria where infant deaths fell at an average of 6 per cent a year in the decade before 2010 in sharp contrast to the rise of 9.1 per cent a year between 2010 and 2013. The United Nations and Arab League Envoy to Syria put out an estimate earlier this year that 400,000 people have died in the war so far.

The authors warn that the worsening health conditions across many countries are likely to have escalated since 2013, when the wars in Syria and Libya intensified and conflicts and unrest continued or broke out in Yemen, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia.

Other health problems for the region, uncovered by the study, include a rise in deaths from diabetes between 1990 and 2013, a 28 per cent rise in obesity and a 17 per cent rise in heart disease – overtaking diarrhoeal diseases as the number one cause of death in 2013.

These trends will lead to additional strain on finances and human resources in a region where they are already scarce, the authors write.