Life expectancy falling in Germany: study

Life expectancy in Germany is shorter than in other Western European countries, according to a study published by the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

The study, which analyzed mortality trends over several decades, found that while life expectancy in Germany was only 0.7 year below the Western European average in 2000, but this gap had widened to 1.7 years by 2022. By that year, life expectancy in Germany had reached 80.55 years.

"The beginning of the 2000s marked a turning point in the dynamics of mortality development in Germany," said co-author Pavel Grigoriev from BiB. Since then, the mortality gap between Germany and the other Western European countries has grown steadily.

The study identified a clear need for action in the prevention and early detection of cardiovascular diseases, tobacco and alcohol prevention, and promoting healthy food.

"There is still a lot of potential here to better position ourselves for the current aging process in society," said co-author Sebastian Kluesener, research director at BiB.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is currently working on a draft law aimed at reducing the number of cardiovascular diseases by encouraging people to have their blood values tested with screening vouchers.