(Press-News.org) While child deaths in England fell temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have now risen to new heights, a new study from researchers at the University of Bristol and based on unique National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) data has found.
The study, published in PLOS Medicine today [23 January], has shown that children were less likely to die during the pandemic lockdown (April 2020–March 2021) than at any time before or since, with 377 fewer deaths than expected from the previous year.
The number of deaths in the following year (2021-2022) was similar to before the pandemic, but in 2022−2023, there were 258 more deaths than expected from the pre-pandemic period.
The aim of the research was to quantify the relative rate, and causes, of childhood deaths in England, before, during, and after national lockdowns for COVID-19 and its social changes.
The researchers identified all those children in England who died between April 2019 and March 2023 and calculated what the rate of death was for each year, for each group of children (e.g., infants or older children) and cause of death.
Using a mathematical model the research team then tested if the rate of death was going up or down across the 4 years, and if the trend seen was different for the first two years (before and during the national lockdowns) compared to the second two (after the national lockdowns).
Previous research from the same group showed a reduction in deaths during the pandemic across most age groups, regions and areas of England, and in both boys and girls. But this new work confirms that this reduction was temporary, and deaths were higher in the years after the lockdown period. One category, deaths from birth events, showed a clear increase going into, and during the lockdowns, but then a reduction back to pre-pandemic levels afterwards.
These changes may have also increased existing healthcare inequalities, with the relative rate of dying for children from non-white backgrounds, compared to white children, now higher than before or during the pandemic.
Karen Luyt, Programme Director for the National Child Mortality Database, Professor of Neonatal Medicine at the University of Bristol and Healthier Childhoods lead at NIHR ARC West, said: “These stark findings demonstrate that, for most children and most causes of death, the reduction in mortality that was seen during the pandemic was only temporary.
“The NCMD's unique data also tells us that existing inequalities have widened, with outcomes deteriorating for children from poor and non-white backgrounds compared with their peers. But it also shows that change is possible; more must be done to change these trends in the long term, and improve and save children's lives.”
The work was supported by the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) Programme and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West (NIHR ARC West).
The research team would like to recognise all Child Death Overview Panels (CDOPs) who submitted data for the purposes of this report and all child death review professionals for submitting data and providing additional information when requested. In particular, the research team would like to thank parent and public involvement, who are at the heart of the NCMD programme.
END
Child mortality has risen since pandemic, new study shows
2025-01-23
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Super enzyme that regulates testosterone levels in males discovered in ‘crazy’ bird species
2025-01-23
A single gene that regulates testosterone levels in a “crazy” species of shore bird controls the development of three wildly different types of males, an international study involving researchers at Simon Fraser University has found.
Ruffs have long fascinated scientists for their three types of males, known as morphs, that differ radically from each other in appearance and mating behaviours.
A new study published on the cover of the journal Science this month has discovered that these morphs are produced by a super enzyme (HSD17B2) ...
Study tracks physical and cognitive impairments associated with long COVID
2025-01-23
Two-thirds of people with post-COVID-19 syndrome have persistent, objective symptoms – including reduced physical exercise capacity and reduced cognitive test performances – for a year or more, with no major changes in symptom clusters during the second year of their illness, according to a new study published January 23rd in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Winfried Kern of Freiburg University, Germany, and colleagues.
Self-reported health problems following SARS-CoV-2 infection ...
Novel model advances microfiber-reinforced concrete research
2025-01-23
Researchers from Hohai University, Northwestern University, and Politecnico di Milano have introduced a pioneering mesoscale mechanical discrete model, LDPM-MicroF, to simulate the fracture behavior of micro fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC), as reported in Engineering.
Microfibers, with diameters less than 100 µm, are crucial in preventing early shrinkage cracking and reducing pore pressure during fires. However, formulating an accurate mechanical constitutive law for micro-FRC has been challenging due to difficulties in understanding ...
Scientists develop new AI method to forecast cyclone rapid intensification
2025-01-23
Rapid Intensification (RI) of a tropical cyclone (TC), defined as a maximum sustained wind increase of at least 13 m/s within 24 hours, remains one of the most challenging weather phenomena to forecast because of its unpredictable and destructive nature. Although only 5% of TCs experience RI, its sudden and severe development poses significant risks to affected regions.
Traditional forecasting methods, such as numerical weather prediction and statistical approaches, often fail to consider the complex environmental and structural factors driving RI. While artificial intelligence ...
Interpreting metamaterials from an artistic view
2025-01-23
Two leading experts in the field of metamaterials from Tsinghua University co-authored a review article on this emerging scientific field in Engineering recently. Unlike traditional review articles, the authors interpret metamaterials from an artistic perspective. By drawing parallels with art, they reflect on significant achievements made over the past two decades and offer insights into the future development of the field. Their work introduces readers to the novel concept of metamaterials as “the art in materials science.”
Metamaterials refer to artificially engineered materials composed of structural units designed to exhibit extraordinary ...
Smoking cannabis in the home increases odds of detectable levels in children
2025-01-23
Researchers at University of California San Diego analyzed cannabis smoking practices in San Diego County to assess whether in-home smoking was associated with cannabis detection in children. The study, published in the Jan. 23, 2025, online edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, found that in-home cannabis smoking increased the odds of child exposure to cannabis smoke.
Smoking is the most common method of cannabis use and is known to generate emissions that are harmful to those exposed. Cannabis is often smoked indoors, putting non-smokers such as children at risk for exposure.
“While the long-term health consequences of cannabis smoke are not ...
Ohio State astronomy professor awarded Henry Draper Medal
2025-01-23
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adam Leroy, a professor of astronomy at The Ohio State University, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Henry Draper Medal.
The oldest medal awarded by the National Academy of Sciences, the Henry Draper Medal celebrates those who have made “a recent, original investigation in astronomical physics, of sufficient importance and benefit to science to merit such recognition.” It is awarded every four years.
Leroy’s work was selected for pathbreaking efforts that have characterized, “in unprecedented detail, the physical ...
Communities of color face greater barriers in accessing opioid medications for pain management
2025-01-23
Non-white communities had significantly less access to opioid medications commonly prescribed for moderate to severe pain than white communities over the decade beginning in 2011, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers.
The findings, published Jan. 23 in Pain, stretched across all socioeconomic groups, and suggest that communities of color may be especially vulnerable to the unintended consequences of efforts to reduce unsafe use of opioid analgesics.
From 2011 to 2021, prescription opioid use dropped by about 50% ...
Researchers track sharp increase in diagnoses for sedative, hypnotic and anxiety use disorder in young adults
2025-01-23
The prevalence of diagnosed disorders from recurrent use of sedative, hypnotic and antianxiety medications in adolescents and young adults has increased sharply since 2001, according to Rutgers Health researchers.
Their study, published in Addiction, examined diagnoses of these disorders in adolescents and young adults between 2001 to 2019.
Sedative, hypnotic and antianxiety medications are used to treat a variety of conditions, including sleep and anxiety disorders. According to Harvard Health, consistent use of these drugs can lead to a higher tolerance for their effects, meaning patients require higher doses to achieve the intended effects.
For ...
Advancement in DNA quantum computing using electric field gradients and nuclear spins
2025-01-23
A recent study by researchers from Peking University demonstrates the potential of nuclear electric resonance to control the nuclear spins of nitrogen atoms in DNA using electric field gradients, thereby achieving artificial intervention to manipulate DNA for computation. Utilizing molecular dynamics simulations, quantum chemical computations and theoretical analyses, the research reveals how electric field gradient orientation patterns vary with DNA bases and nitrogen atom sites, encoding genetic and structural information into the direction of nitrogen nuclear spins. The research was published Dec. 12 in Intelligent Computing, a Science Partner ...