Will life expectancy in Malaysia keep shrinking?

From 74.5 years in 2021, Malaysia’s life expectancy at birth fell to 73.4 this year, says the Department of Statistics Malaysia. – Agencies

A BABY born in Malaysia this year is expected to live a shorter life – one year less – than a child born last year.

It may be hard to hear but that’s the projection from the latest data on the nation’s dropping life expectancy.

From 74.5 years in 2021, Malaysia’s life expectancy at birth fell to 73.4 this year, says the Department of Statistics Malaysia in a recent report.

Life expectancy at birth is the average time that a child born in a particular year is expected to live. In Malaysia, this measure of life has been on a declining trend: from 74.8 years for both males and females in 2019, it shrank to 74.7 in 2020 and has continued dipping.

For the last two years, the estimated shorter life span is due to the spike in the number of deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of Friday, the coronavirus has led to a total of 36,644 deaths in Malaysia since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

And with Covid-19 still in the picture, public health experts are divided over whether life expectancy in Malaysia will rise again or continue to drop in the years to come.

But the Health Ministry is optimistic that life expectancy will not only return to previous levels but will also continue to grow in the future.

“The ministry had expected the lower life expectancy, as such was the trend reported across the globe due to the pandemic.

“We do not believe this to be an area of high concern as the overall mortality, including Covid-19 and excess deaths due to the pandemic, has remained low in Malaysia.

“Nevertheless, we will continuously monitor and study the situation to ensure the safety and health of the population in Malaysia,” the ministry’s Institute for Public Health tells Sunday Star.

The institute, one of the research bodies under the National Institutes of Health, also believes life expectancy will bounce back.

“As we adapt to living with Covid-19, with vaccination and immunity in place, we do expect life expectancy to keep increasing in the future due to health improvements in the country,” it says.

Indeed, Malaysia isn’t alone when it comes to a shorter life expectancy.

A study across 29 countries showed that life expectancy has dropped between 0.1% and 43% in 28 of the 29 countries since the pandemic began.

It was recently reported that the life expectancy in the United States fell from 79 years in 2019 to 77 years in 2020 due to Covid-19.

Live and let live

The question on whether life expectancy will continue to fall in Malaysia has been met with different answers.

It may keep declining because of the long-term effects of Covid-19, says Universiti Malaya epidemiologist Prof Datuk Dr Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud, calling the shorter life expectancy a cause for concern.

“Covid-19 is one of a few infectious diseases whose effects last long after the acute infection.

“The damage caused by the coronavirus does not end with the eradication of the virus from the body.

“In fact, it seems to set off a chain of events long after apparent recovery. It is this chain of events which has the potential to shorten life expectancy in the future,” he says.

As such, Dr Awang Bulgiba believes there’s a possibility that our life expectancy might decline further or stagnate at this level as the pandemic is not yet over.

“My worry is that the long-term effect of Covid-19 is not well understood and poorly researched in Malaysia.

“As more people get infected and re-infected, I fear that the risk of dying from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will rise.

“This is because there is now a possibility such reinfections increase the chances of succumbing to NCDs like heart disease and stroke,” he says.

For example, there is an increased risk of cardiovascular disorders one year post-infection, based on a study by researchers at the Veterans Affairs St Louis Health Care System in the United States.

Unfortunately, Dr Awang Bulgiba feels it is not just the coronavirus we need to be wary of.

“We are already on a slippery slope as far as unhealthy lifestyles and NCDs are concerned.

“The prevalence of diabetes among Malaysian adults was found to be 18.3% in the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019.

“This has been growing over the last 10 years. It was 11.2% in 2011, rising to 13.4% in 2015. Diabetes is linked to a whole host of other diseases like cardiovascular disease, strokes, kidney failure and so on.

“Any rise in diabetes prevalence will inevitably translate to a higher prevalence of those diseases, poorer health and, consequently, a shorter lifespan and lower quality of life,” he says.

Better help

However, another expert has taken a positive stand, that Malaysia will recover from the dipping life expectancy.

The decline is likely to stop over the next two years, foresees Universiti Putra Malaysia epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman.

“The Covid-19 situation has been better after our vaccination programme while the number of deaths due to Covid-19 infection have declined significantly,” she says.

Calling the current strategies by the Health Ministry up to date, she also points out that the country has an excellent healthcare system.

“But we need more programmes to instil awareness among the public to foster healthier lifestyles, dietary patterns and to avoid cigarettes, vaping and alcohol.

“We also need political will and commitment to implement relevant laws and regulations for specific health issues,” she adds.

But Dr Malina also believes there is a need for more studies to be done on factors affecting our lifespan.

“Life expectancy, in general, is important for health policymakers, demography and public health experts.

“It’s a reflection of the functioning of the healthcare system. There-fore, the causes for the declining life expectancy should be investigated in detail.

“Subsequently, appropriate measures to rectify it can be carried out accordingly,” she suggests.

For Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai, life expectancy will depend mainly on lifestyle habits now, seeing that Covid-19 is still here.

“It needs to be noted that many young Covid-19 fatalities in the country had comorbidities or were obese.

“This is a concern that needs to be taken seriously now,” he highlights.

Dr Muruga Raj urges Malaysians, especially youths, not to take health for granted.

“Adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle from a young age and the habit of scheduled medical check-ups will be key to improving life expectancy,” he says.

Dr Muruga also suggests a bigger budget be allocated by the government to improve access to medical help and to boost the quality of healthcare.

“New World Bank data shows that countries that spend more on healthcare tend to have higher rates of life expectancy,” he says.