TY - JOUR
T1 - Disease-Specific Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic
T2 - An Analysis of Weekly US Death Data for 2020
AU - Zhu, Dongshan
AU - Ozaki, Akihiko
AU - Virani, Salim S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Public Health Association Inc.. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Objectives. To examine the disease-specific excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Methods. We used weekly death data from the National Center for Health Statistics to analyze the trajectories of excess deaths from specific diseases in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, at the national level and in 4 states, from the first to 52nd week of 2020. We used the average weekly number of deaths in the previous 6 years (2014–2019) as baseline. Results. Compared with the same week at baseline, the trajectory of number of excess deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) was highly parallel to the trajectory of the number of excess deaths related to COVID-19. The number of excess deaths from diabetes mellitus, influenza and respiratory diseases, and malignant neoplasms remained relatively stable over time. Conclusions. The parallel trajectory of excess mortality from CVD and COVID-19 over time reflects the fact that essential health services for noncommunicable diseases were reduced or disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the severer the pandemic, the heavier the impact.
AB - Objectives. To examine the disease-specific excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Methods. We used weekly death data from the National Center for Health Statistics to analyze the trajectories of excess deaths from specific diseases in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, at the national level and in 4 states, from the first to 52nd week of 2020. We used the average weekly number of deaths in the previous 6 years (2014–2019) as baseline. Results. Compared with the same week at baseline, the trajectory of number of excess deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) was highly parallel to the trajectory of the number of excess deaths related to COVID-19. The number of excess deaths from diabetes mellitus, influenza and respiratory diseases, and malignant neoplasms remained relatively stable over time. Conclusions. The parallel trajectory of excess mortality from CVD and COVID-19 over time reflects the fact that essential health services for noncommunicable diseases were reduced or disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the severer the pandemic, the heavier the impact.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115449540&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306315
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306315
M3 - Article
C2 - 34185569
AN - SCOPUS:85115449540
SN - 0090-0036
VL - 111
SP - 1518
EP - 1522
JO - American Journal of Public Health
JF - American Journal of Public Health
IS - 8
ER -