Life expectancy for humans averaged around 35 years until the end of the 19th century. Since then, it has more than doubled, especially in Mediterranean countries where it now reaches almost 85 years. According to the World Economic Forum, in 2040 Spain would be the country with the highest life expectancy in the world (85.8 years) and Italy would rank fifth (84.5 years). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will affect these predictions as both countries have had an excess of deaths during 2020. However, both countries exemplify the increase of life expectancy during the last 120 years. The main factor promoting this increase in life expectancy is the development of antibiotics and vaccines that resulted in a marked decrease in bacterial and viral diseases that plagued our species throughout history. The current leading causes of death in the Western world, and especially in Europe, are dominated by coronary heart disease and cancer-related conditions. That is, diseases related to old age and poor eating habits in advanced societies. Nevertheless, infectious diseases are far from being eliminated as a threat, since bacteria and viruses continue to evolve and circumvent both natural and artificial barriers to infection.

Con autorización del periódico para autores CSIC. El artículo apareció en la sección Agenda Social.

Peer reviewed