Life expectancy on Merseyside has fallen for the first time in 40 years.
Normally, life expectancy in the UK and around the world increases over time - and falls are rare, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
But a fall in life expectancy in 2020 - for the first time in 40 years and on a scale not seen since World War II - has been the result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to research from Oxford University.
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Life expectancy at birth in the UK in 2018 to 2020 was 79.0 years for men and 82.9 years for women.
Compared to 2015 to 2017, that was seven weeks less for men, and almost no change for women (a slight increase of 0.5 weeks).
Pamela Cobb, Centre for Ageing and Demography at the ONS, said the coronavirus pandemic led to a greater number of deaths than normal in 2020, leading to virtually no improvement in life expectancy for women and life expectancy for men falling back to levels reported for 2012 to 2014.
She said: “Life expectancy has increased in the UK over the last 40 years, albeit at a slower pace in the last decade.
“This is the first time we have seen a decline when comparing non-overlapping time periods since the series began in the early 1980s.
“These estimates rely on the assumption that current levels of mortality, which are unusually high, will continue for the rest of someone’s life.
"Once the coronavirus pandemic has ended and its consequences for future mortality are known, it is possible that life expectancy will return to an improving trend in the future.”
Following suit, life expectancy in Merseyside has fallen - with the impact of the pandemic being blamed for the decrease.
For men in the area, life expectancy at birth was 77.2 years in 2018 to 2020.
That was down significantly from 77.5 years in 2015 to 2017 - a fall of 14.6 weeks.
For women, the drop was 12 weeks, taking life expectancy at birth from 81.2 years in 2015 to 2017 to 81 years in 2018 to 2020.
Sefton saw the biggest drop for men to 78.0 years in 2018 to 2020, down significantly from 78.7 years in 2015 to 2017 - a fall of 34.8 weeks.
For women, the biggest drop was in Knowsley at 39.5 weeks, taking life expectancy at birth from 80.5 years in 2015 to 2017 to 79.8 years in 2018 to 2020.
The figures released this week by the Office for National Statistics are the first to include higher death rates seen in 2020 due to coronavirus.
Change in expected years of life expectancy at birth in each region on Merseyside
Local authority // Female - 2015-17 // Female 2018-20 // Male - 2015-17 // Male 2018-20
Knowsley // 80.5 // 79.8 // 76.7 // 76.3
Liverpool // 80.2 // 79.9 // 76.1 // 76.1
St. Helens // 81 // 81 // 77.5 // 77.5
Sefton // 82.4 // 82.4 // 78.7 // 78
Wirral // 81.8 // 81.6 // 78.3 // 77.8
Merseyside (Met county) // 81.2 // 81 // 77.5 // 77.2
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