Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40051536›Full record

ArticleBMJ public health2025

Excess mortality and years of life lost from 2020 to 2023 in France: a cohort study of the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality.

Paul Moulaire, Gilles Hejblum, Nathanaël Lapidus

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Social inequalities in COVID-19-related years of life lost in metropolitan France, 2020.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Paul MoulaireSorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0003-3334-6035
Gilles HejblumSorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0003-0127-1964
Nathanaël LapidusSorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, AP HP, Hôpital Saint Antoine, Unité de Santé Publique, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0002-4837-1068

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Excess mortality has been frequently used worldwide for summarising the COVID-19 pandemic-related burden. Estimates for France for the years 2020-2022 vary substantially from one report to another, and the year 2023 is poorly documented. The present study assessed the level of excess mortality that occurred in France between 2020 and 2023 together with the corresponding years of life lost (YLL), in order to provide a reliable, detailed and comprehensive description of the overall impact of the pandemic. Method: This open cohort study of the whole French population analysed the 8 451 372 death occurrences reported for the years 2010-2023. A Poisson regression model was trained with years 2010-2019 for determining the age-specific and sex-specific evolution trends of mortality before the pandemic period. These trends were then used for estimating the excess mortality during the pandemic period (years 2020-2023). The life expectancies of the persons in excess mortality were used for estimating the corresponding YLL. Results: From 2020 to 2023, the number of excess deaths (mean (95% CI) (percentage of change versus expected mortality)) was, respectively, 49 541 (48 467; 50 616) (+8.0%), 42 667 (41 410; 43 909) (+6.9%), 53 129 (51 696; 54 551) (+8.5%), and 17 355 (15 760; 18 917) (+2.8%). Corresponding YLL were 512 753 (496 029; 529 633), 583 580 (564 137; 602 747), 663 588 (641 863; 685 723), and 312 133 (288 051; 335 929). Individuals younger than 60 years old accounted for 17% of the YLL in 2020, 26% in 2021, 32% in 2022 and 50% in 2023. Men were more affected than women by both excess mortality and YLL. Conclusion: This study highlights the long-lasting impact of the pandemic on mortality in France, with four consecutive years of excess mortality and a growing impact on people under 60, particularly men, suggesting lasting and profound disruption to the healthcare system.

Indexed as

COVID-19EpidemicsEpidemiologyPublic HealthSex Factors

Identifiers

PMID40051536
PMCPMC11883889

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.