Death counts fail to capture full mortality effects of COVID-19, study
finds

Date:
September 23, 2020
Source:
University of South Florida
Summary:
A new study finds that for each person in the U.S. who died
after contracting COVID-19, an average of nearly 10 years of life
had been lost. Researchers claim 'years of life lost' is a more
insightful measure than death count since it accounts for the ages
of the deceased.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
More than 200,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19. Some argue
that statistic is inaccurate due to inconsistencies in how deaths are
being reported. But researchers from the University of South Florida
claim that even if those deaths have been correctly measured, the number doesn't fully convey the true mortality effects of COVID-19.


==========================================================================
A study published in the Journal of Public Health finds that for each
person in the U.S. who died after contracting COVID-19, an average of
nearly 10 years of life had been lost. Researchers claim "years of life
lost" is a more insightful measure than death count since it accounts
for the ages of the deceased. The tool is often used to determine the
effects of non-communicable disease, drug misuse and suicide. They believe "years of life lost" is especially appropriate given the range of ages
at which individuals have died of COVID-19.

"While death counts are a vital initial measure of the extent of COVID-19 mortality, they do not provide information regarding the age profile
of those who died," said lead author Troy Quast, professor of health
economics in the USF College of Public Health. "By contrast, years of
life lost tell us the extent to which deaths are occurring across age
groups and can potentially help healthcare providers and policymakers
better target clinical and governmental responses to reduce the number
of deaths." Quast and his research team obtained data from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention that report COVID-19 death counts by
sex, age and state. The study focused on data from Feb. 1 to July 11,
during which there had been roughly 130,000 COVID-19 deaths reported. They
then compared the ages at death to life expectancies by age and gender
from the U.S. Social Security Administration and to population data
from the U.S. Census Bureau. When taking those factors into account,
they calculated that COVID-19 had caused 1.2 million years of life
lost during that timeframe. While the analysis only covered the period
through mid-July, if past trends were to have continued, that figure at
this point would approach 2 million.

Nearly 80 percent of deaths nationwide occurred among people ages 65
and older.

Therefore, geographical areas with a younger population had more years
of life lost due to COVID-19. For example, one-sixth of the nation's
years of life lost is attributed to New York City, the then-epicenter
of the outbreak. Another significant factor is pre-existing medical
conditions. Males generally have more pre-existing medical conditions
than females and accounted for roughly 55 percent of deaths attributed
to COVID-19. Researchers adjusted for the higher rate of pre-existing conditions among COVID-19 decedents by reducing expected life expectancy
by 25 percent.

Measuring COVID-19 deaths has been difficult due to evolving diagnostic criteria, testing supply constraints and the uncertainties that occur in
over- burdened intensive care units. Quast says it's vital to continue monitoring years of life lost due to COVID-19 to help policy makers and
health care providers better understand the extent of the outbreak.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_South_Florida. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Troy Quast, Ross Andel, Sean Gregory, Eric A Storch. Years of
life lost
associated with COVID-19 deaths in the United States. Journal of
Public Health, 2020; DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa159 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200923124557.htm

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