Comparison of life expectancy determinants among gulf cooperation council members

Background: Understanding the determinants of life expectancy (LE) is essential for effective policy planning and enhancing public health in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This study aims to elucidate the complex interactions among sociodemographic (SD), macroeconomic (ME), and health resource (HR) factors that influence LE among the GCC countries.

Methods: We employed a Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling to develop a comparative model across six GCC countries using annual data from 1990 to 2020. The pairwise comparison utilized Partial Least Squares Multi-Group Analysis, allowing us to examine the differences of SD, ME, and HR influences on LE among the GCC countries.

Results: Our analysis highlighted that HR and ME factors directly impact LE across all GCC countries examined. We observed significant mediation effects where SD factors influenced ME or HR, affecting LE. Notably, the final pairwise comparisons revealed that the impact of SD on LE was particularly significant, with effect sizes ranging from 0.2679 (p = 0.0018) in the Oman-Kuwait comparison to 0.6686 (p < 0.0001) in the Emirate-Saudi comparison. Furthermore, while HR and ME factors consistently influenced LE in each model, the differences in their impacts across the six countries did not show significant variations between each pairing.

Conclusions: Generally, the findings highlight the critical need for GCC countries to strengthen the integrated framework of SD, ME, and HR factors rather than relying solely on HR improvements. Specifically, the findings highlight the importance of tailoring health policies to address specific sociodemographic contexts within the GCC to enhance LE effectively. The insights gained from our model could significantly inform targeted health policy initiatives and provide a valuable reference for future research in similar settings.