(Press-News.org) A new study involving researchers from the University of Oxford and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) has examined the change in overall and cause-specific death rates during the three months of the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020. The results are published today in The BMJ.
In China, the emergence of COVID-19 was first reported during mid-December 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei province. Coinciding with the January 2020 festivities for the Chinese Lunar New Year, the virus spread rapidly across China. This led to a national lockdown on 23 January 2020, which continued until early April.
The study analysed data from official Chinese death registries for the period 1 January - 31 March 2020, and compared this with the same period over the previous five years. The researchers performed separate analyses for Wuhan city, the epicentre of the pandemic, and elsewhere in China.
The main findings were:
- The overall death rate in Wuhan city was 56% higher than would be normally expected (1147 v 735 per 100,000). This was mainly due to an eightfold increase in deaths from pneumonia, most of which were COVID-19 related.
- Deaths from certain other diseases also increased modestly in Wuhan city, including cardiovascular disease (29% increase: 408 v 316 per 100,000) and diabetes (83% increase: 46 v 25 per 100,000).
- Overall, in Wuhan city, there were about 6000 additional deaths (4573 caused by pneumonia) in January-March 2020 compared with the expected rate based on the previous five years. Excess deaths were significantly greater in central districts (compared with suburban districts), in adults over 70 years old, and were higher in men than women.
- Outside of Wuhan city, the overall death rate did not increase, and was in fact slightly lower than that expected (675 v 715 per 100,000). This was due to fewer deaths from non-COVID-19 related pneumonia (47% reduction), chronic respiratory diseases (18% reduction), and road traffic incidents (23% reduction), all of which coincided closely with the lockdown.
Dr Jiangmei Liu, a study author at the China CDC, said 'This was the first nationwide study in China to systematically examine the excess mortality during the COVID-19 outbreak, not only from pneumonia but also from a range of other conditions across different regions of China.'
The researchers used official records from China CDC's nationally-representative Disease Surveillance Point (DSP) system. It covers more than 300 million people from 605 urban districts and rural counties, representing more than 20% of the entire population in China.
Professor Maigeng Zhou, senior author for the study at the China CDC, said 'The data showed that during these first three months of the COVID-19 outbreak, there were totally different situations in Wuhan city and in the rest of China. Within Wuhan city, there were also major differences in the severity of the outbreak between central and suburban districts.'
In Wuhan city, apart from excess deaths from pneumonia (mostly COVID-19 related), there were about 1400 additional deaths from several chronic diseases. When examined by the location of these deaths, the data revealed that hospital deaths decreased significantly, whilst deaths that occurred outside hospital increased. This indicates that difficulty in accessing hospital services or a reluctance to seek medical care during the outbreak may have been a key factor causing the increased deaths from non-pneumonia related diseases.
Outside of Wuhan city, the small increase in deaths from COVID-19 related pneumonia were more than offset by a reduction in deaths from other types of pneumonia, chronic respiratory diseases and traffic accidents. This reflected the success of the rapid control of the spread of SARS-CoV-2, besides the appropriate maintenance of healthcare systems during the nationwide lockdown.
Zhengming Chen, Professor of Epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford and senior author for the study, said 'It would appear that the lockdown and associated behavioural changes - such as wearing facemasks, increased hygiene, social distancing and restricted travel - actually had unintended additional health benefits beyond those of reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2.'
Apart from cause-specific mortality, the study did not directly assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on hospital admissions, routine clinical examinations (e.g. for cancer diagnosis), and case fatality rates following infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Nevertheless, this large study provides important evidence highlighting the need for rapid, drastic and coordinated actions during major outbreaks of infectious diseases to contain, suppress, and eradicate transmission and minimise detrimental effects on human health.
INFORMATION:
Night 'owls' may be twice as likely as morning 'larks' to underperform at work and to run a heightened risk of early retirement due to disability, finds research published online in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.
Given the move to lengthen working life and delay pension eligibility, it might be worth factoring in a person's chronotype, suggest the researchers.
Morning chronotypes, or 'larks' tend to do better early in the morning, while evening chronotypes, or 'owls' do better in the evening. Chronotype is largely genetic, but environmental factors, such as exposure to daylight, work schedules, and family life can also influence it.
Owls don't usually fall asleep early enough to get the recommended 7+ hours of sleep on ...
A whole foods, plant based diet may ease the painful skin blistering and scarring of a baffling blood vessel disorder for which there is as yet no commonly accepted cure, and no known cause, suggest doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports.
The primary symptoms of livedoid vasculopathy are extremely painful ulcers of varying sizes on the feet and lower legs, which leave visible scars when healed.
The condition affects 1 in 100,000 people, mostly women in their 30s. The symptoms can last for months to years and can recur.
Poor blood flow is often associated with the condition, but the exact cause remains a mystery, and there is as yet no commonly accepted cure, note the authors.
They report the case of a woman in her early 60s, whose symptoms had first started in 2006. In 2013 ...
Unique analysis of US county-level data finds a strong association between jail incarceration and death rates at the county level from infectious diseases, chronic lower respiratory disease, drug use, and suicide; and to a lesser extent heart disease and cancer.
Findings underscore public health benefits of reducing jail incarceration and importance of interventions to mitigate the harmful effects of mass imprisonment on community health including treatment for substance use disorder and greater investment in social services.
County jail incarceration rates in the USA are potential drivers of many causes of death in the communities where they are located, with particularly pronounced effects on the number of deaths caused by infectious and respiratory diseases, drug overdose, and suicide, ...
A new study has discovered that not all cockroaches are equal and "super athletes", with larger respiratory systems, are more likely to win physical mating battles.
The research, published in the journal Animal Behaviour and led by Dr Sophie Mowles of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), studied aggressive interactions between male wide-horned hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina oblongonota).
Animal contests are usually won by the larger opponent and physical fighting is often avoided if clear differences exist between competitors. However, during a series of laboratory contests, the researchers closely matched the cockroaches ...
International travellers are particularly vulnerable to virulent strains of drug-resistant bacteria - often picking up several different types during a trip through spending time in the company of other tourists, a new study reveals.
The global spread of intestinal multidrug resistant gram-negative (MDR-GN) bacteria poses a serious threat to human health worldwide, with MDR clones of E.coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae threatening more antibiotic resistant infections around the world.
Researchers monitored a group of European travellers visiting Lao People's Democratic Republic for three weeks - analysing daily returns of ...
An analysis of U.S. county-level data found a strong association between jail incarceration and death rates from infectious diseases, chronic lower respiratory disease, drug use, and suicide, in a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The researchers found this was the case to a lesser extent for heart disease and cancer. The study is the first to examine the link between the expansion of the jail population and multiple specific causes of death at the county level, and adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that decarceration strategies would improve public health. Findings are published online in the journal Lancet ...
Highlight
Racial disparities in access to kidney transplantation persist in the United States. New research indicates that registering Black patients on the kidney transplant waitlist at a slightly higher level of kidney function compared with white patients might lessen racial inequality in patients' wait time prior to kidney failure onset, and ultimately improve racial equity in access to kidney transplantation.
Washington, DC (February 23, 2021) -- Despite efforts to address them, racial disparities in access to kidney transplantation persist in the United States. New research published in an upcoming issue of JASN indicates that policy changes surrounding patients' eligibility to be put on kidney transplant waitlists might help address these disparities.
There are studies ...
MINNEAPOLIS - More than two-thirds of people with migraine do not get enough exercise, according to a preliminary study released today, February 23, 2021, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 73rd Annual Meeting being held virtually April 17 to 22, 2021. The study found that people who do get a minimum of two-and-a-half hours of moderate to vigorous exercise a week had a reduced rate of migraine triggers like stress, depression and sleep problems.
"Migraine is a disabling condition that affects millions of people in the United States, and yet regular exercise may be an effective way to reduce the frequency and intensity of some migraines," said study author Mason Dyess, D.O., of the University ...
One in four women over age 65 is unable to walk two blocks or climb a flight of stairs. Known as mobility disability, it is the leading type of incapacity in the United States and a key contributor to a person's loss of independence. New research from Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Sciences at UC San Diego suggests that light-intensity physical activity, including shopping or a casual walk, may protect mobility in older women.
Published in the February 23, 2021 online issue of JAMA Network Open, researchers found that women ...
Texas A&M University researchers have designed a reinforcement-based algorithm that automates the process of predicting the properties of the underground environment, facilitating the accurate forecasting of oil and gas reserves.
Within the Earth's crust, layers of rock hold bountiful reservoirs of groundwater, oil and natural gas. Now, using machine learning, researchers at Texas A&M University have developed an algorithm that automates the process of determining key features of the Earth's subterranean environment. They said this research might help with accurate forecasting of our natural reserves.
Specifically, the researchers' algorithm ...
