generations from 1941 to 1955 did not benefit from a reduction in mortality

Orange with multimedia services, published on Friday 13 November 2020 at 16:26

Women of these generations are massively smoked in their youth. Men, on the other hand, are the ones who have smoked the most in their life.

Suicides, traffic accidents, smoking or even AIDS …

People born between 1941 and 1955 did not experience a sharp decline in mortality, as was the case for the generations that preceded and followed them, according to a study published on Friday 13 November by INSEE.

These generations, defined as “level” by the Institute for Statistical Studies, have suffered a virtual stagnation of their mortality in adulthood. : the probability of dying in the year, calculated at the age of 50, decreased by only 4% for those born in 1955, compared to those born in 1941. For previous generations, however, this probability decreased by 29% between those born in 1931 and those born in 1941. And for the following, it decreased again by 33%, between those born in 1955 and those born in 1965, calculated INSEE.

For the “level generations”, this virtual stagnation, which “is not specific to France”, is explained in particular by an increase in suicides, and by those of road accidents in the 1960s, which then sharply increased. decline since 1972. Another important cause is the emergence of AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, which “mainly explains the increased mortality of men born at the end of the stage and subsequent generations.” But INSEE also emphasizes the effect of alcohol and tobacco consumption: women of these “level” generations “started smoking en masse in their youth, while men smoked more in their lifetime”, while subsequent generations have significantly reduced the consumption of cigarettes.

In addition, the generations born between 1941 and 1955 were hit hard this year by the Covid-19 epidemic, notes INSEE. In March-April, at the time of the first wave, they experienced a 22% excess mortality over the same period in 2019, probably explained by their age – they are now 65-79 years old.

Unsurprisingly, older generations have been hit even harder by the coronavirus (+ 30% deaths for people aged 79 to 89) and subsequent generations less hard (+ 13% deaths for those aged 79 to 89). between 55 and 65 years).