A Conversation on Longevity, Healthspan, and COVID-19 in India
Dr. Tiffany Vora at a Speaking Engagement Hosted by the Entrepreneur’s Organization, Delhi and Noida Chapters.
I recently had the wonderful privilege to travel to India for a workshop with the Delhi and Noida chapters of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. As we were designing the experience, I received a special request.
Could I talk about how COVID-19 has affected longevity in India?
This question piqued my interest for a few reasons.:
Dr. Tiffany Vora talks about COVID-19, lifespans, and healthspans in India — and how we can take positive action and impact more lives.
First, when we talk about average lifespan—the number of years a hypothetical person can expect to live based on a variety of factors—we’re talking about a statistical measure of a population. That may or may not be directly relevant to a given individual in that population*, let alone a person subject to a different set of factors.
Second, it can be tricky to definitively identify “the cause” of a death; politics further complicates the matter.
Third, I found myself wondering whether the acute horror of the pandemic was overshadowing slow-burning, longevity-reducing issues that deserve more attention than they receive today.
I started my investigation in the literature.
Several groups have attempted to determine the true COVID-19 death toll in India. Estimates range from 1 million to more than 7 million—far outstripping the official count of ~515,000 deaths over 2 years. I also found a study suggesting that the average lifespan in India in 2020 was 2 years shorter than in 2019 (down to 67.5 and 69.8 years for men and women, respectively). Of course, we still know very little about how COVID-19 impacts health and lifespan in people who recovered from the disease, or how long COVID will impact us.
What else affects lifespan in India?
There’s evidence that tuberculosis has killed 2 million Indians in the past 5 years. But here’s what really shocked me: air pollution may be responsible for 8+ million premature deaths over 5 years and may have shortened the lives of 40% of Indians by 9+ years.
💡 The takeaway for me is that we can take actions—as individuals, organizations, and societies—with real and positive impacts on the everyday lives of many people.
It’s natural to become focused on the headlines and to overlook challenges that we’ve just gotten used to (climate change was a great example of that … until it wasn’t).
Before I came to the stage that evening, another EO member described three local projects being spearheaded by their chapters. I was thrilled to see that one of those projects is tackling air quality. When I shared my realizations about longevity in India, I was excited to remind the audience that they had just heard about a chance to positively impact the healthspans and lifespans of their families and potentially millions of other people.
This is just one of the reasons why it’s always a delight to work with the EO community of global business leaders!
*Consider this scenario: if I have three groups of something with value 0 and three groups of something with value 1, then the average of the six groups is 0.5, even though neither of the groups contains something with value 0.5. The statistical measure of “average” isn’t useful to describe either of the groups in themselves.
Interested to learn more about health, longevity, and medicine and the futures that are possible with longer human lives? Contact me about virtual and in-person speaking opportunities and workshops that I offer!
About Tiffany
Dr. Tiffany Vora speaks, writes, and advises on how to harness technology to build the best possible future(s). She is an expert in biotech, health, & innovation.
For a full list of topics and ways to collaborate, visit Tiffany’s Work Together webpage.
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After a 19-day voyage to Antarctica aboard The Island Sky in November 2023, Tiffany has many remarkable stories to share & a wealth of insights to catalyze a sustainable future.
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