Change in mortality rates of respiratory disease during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Objective

This study explored the change in mortality rates of respiratory disease during the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods

Death data of registered residents of Suzhou from 2014 to 2020 were collected and the weekly mortality rates due to respiratory disease and all deaths were analyzed. The differences in mortality rates during the pandemic and the same period in previous years were compared.

Results

Before the pandemic, the crude mortality rate (CMR) and standardized mortality rate (SMR) of Suzhou residents including respiratory disease, were not much different from those in previous years. During the emergency period, the CMR of Suzhou residents was 180.2/100,000 and the SMR was 85.5/100,000, decreasing by 9.1% and 14.6%, respectively; the CMR of respiratory disease was 16.4/100,000 and the SMR was 6.8/100,000, down 41.4% and 44.9%, respectively. Regardless of the mortality rates of all deaths or respiratory disease, the rates were higher in males than in females, although males had aslightly greater decrease in all deaths during the emergency period compared with females, and the opposite was true for respiratory disease.

Conclusion

During the pandemic, the death rate of residents decreased, especially that due to respiratory disease.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• respiratory disease
• mortality
• prevention
• trend

Article highlights

• This is the first report to explore the change in mortality rates due to respiratory disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• During the pandemic, the mortality rate of residents decreased, especially that due to respiratory disease.

• Regardless of the mortality rates of all deaths or respiratory disease, the rates were higher in males than in females.

• Males had aslightly greater decrease in all deaths during the emergency period compared with females, and the opposite was true for respiratory disease.

• Epidemic control measures are necessary.

Acknowledgments

The staff at all levels of city who are responsible for the cause of death monitoring have done a lot of work in data registration, collation and quality control. We would like to express our sincere gratitude here.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with afinancial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Jiangsu Key Research and Development Plan (Social Development) Project (BE2019674), Jiangsu Research project of preventive medicine (Y2018032), Suzhou Program of Science & Technology Development (SYS2020197, SS201807, SYS2018098), Suzhou Key Discipline of Medicine (Szxk201816), and Suzhou key Technologies (Research) Project for prevention and control of major diseases and infectious diseases (GWZX201905, GWZX201601).