By Dr. Chinta Sidharthan – News Medical Life Scienes
In a recent JAMA Network Open study, researchers explore the association between excess mortality and economic factors, health, population, and well-being before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Background
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in about 15 million excess mortalities worldwide. Since age is one of the risk factors for increased severity of COVID-19 symptoms and outcomes, excess mortality is considered to be higher in countries with a high aging ratio.
Despite Japan having one of the highest aging ratios, the number of excess deaths in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic was low. The current study investigates the factors that could explain the low number of excess deaths among the elderly in Japan due to SARS-CoV-2 infections.
