Healthcare visits of the population 50+ in Europe from 2004 to 2022

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic brought major reductions in healthcare visits in Europe. The long-run consequences for healthcare systems depend on the paths to post-pandemic levels, especially among the groups in highest need of sustained care. MethodsWe used individual longitudinal data from 27 European countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, divided in three phases: pre-pandemic (2004-2019), pandemic (2021), and post-pandemic (2022). We analysed the number of healthcare visits by gender over time and their correlation with age and chronic conditions using a Bayesian spatio-temporal model. ResultsBefore COVID-19, the nominal rate of healthcare visits varied among countries from two to six visits per year and increased over time. The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the number of healthcare visits, with an estimated reduction from 65% to 95% across countries. During COVID-19, older individuals and those with chronic conditions had a more than proportional reduction in the number of healthcare visits. After COVID-19, the pattern of healthcare visits mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels, with an over-shooting for people with cancer and a lag for people with cardiovascular diseases. ConclusionThe quick recovery in the number of healthcare visits for most European countries indicate that access to care stabilised again. Yet, the different trends for vulnerable groups show that these groups require timely action to prevent long-term consequences of missed care.