scholarly journals Behavioural response to heterogeneous severity of COVID-19 explains temporal variation of cases among different age groups

Author(s):  
Benjamin Steinegger ◽  
Lluís Arola-Fernández ◽  
Clara Granell ◽  
Jesús Gómez-Gardeñes ◽  
Alex Arenas

Together with seasonal effects inducing outdoor or indoor activities, the gradual easing of prophylaxis caused second and third waves of SARS-CoV-2 to emerge in various countries. Interestingly, data indicate that the proportion of infections belonging to the elderly is particularly small during periods of low prevalence and continuously increases as case numbers increase. This effect leads to additional stress on the health care system during periods of high prevalence. Furthermore, infections peak with a slight delay of about a week among the elderly compared to the younger age groups. Here, we provide a mechanistic explanation for this phenomenology attributable to a heterogeneous prophylaxis induced by the age-specific severity of the disease. We model the dynamical adoption of prophylaxis through a two-strategy game and couple it with an SIR spreading model. Our results also indicate that the mixing of contacts among the age groups strongly determines the delay between their peaks in prevalence and the temporal variation in the distribution of cases. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Data science approaches to infectious disease surveillance’.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bankole Olatosi ◽  
Jiajia Zhang ◽  
Sharon Weissman ◽  
Zhenlong Li ◽  
Jianjun Hu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) remains a serious global pandemic. Currently, all age groups are at risk for infection but the elderly and persons with underlying health conditions are at higher risk of severe complications. In the United States (US), the pandemic curve is rapidly changing with over 6,786,352 cases and 199,024 deaths reported. South Carolina (SC) as of 9/21/2020 reported 138,624 cases and 3,212 deaths across the state. OBJECTIVE The growing availability of COVID-19 data provides a basis for deploying Big Data science to leverage multitudinal and multimodal data sources for incremental learning. Doing this requires the acquisition and collation of multiple data sources at the individual and county level. METHODS The population for the comprehensive database comes from statewide COVID-19 testing surveillance data (March 2020- till present) for all SC COVID-19 patients (N≈140,000). This project will 1) connect multiple partner data sources for prediction and intelligence gathering, 2) build a REDCap database that links de-identified multitudinal and multimodal data sources useful for machine learning and deep learning algorithms to enable further studies. Additional data will include hospital based COVID-19 patient registries, Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC) data, data from the office of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs (RFA), and Area Health Resource Files (AHRF). RESULTS The project was funded as of June 2020 by the National Institutes for Health. CONCLUSIONS The development of such a linked and integrated database will allow for the identification of important predictors of short- and long-term clinical outcomes for SC COVID-19 patients using data science.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Jainul Azarudeen ◽  
Tanzin Dikid ◽  
Karishma Kurup ◽  
Khyati Aroskar ◽  
Himanshu Chauhan ◽  
...  

Background Mortality rates provide an opportunity to identify and act on the health system intervention for preventing deaths. Hence, it is essential to appreciate the influence of age structure while reporting mortality for a better summary of the magnitude of the epidemic. Objectives We described and compared the pattern of COVID-19 mortality standardized by age between selected states and India from January to November 2020. Methods We initially estimated the Indian population for 2020 using the decadal growth rate from the previous census (2011). This was followed by estimations of crude and age-adjusted mortality rate per million for India and the selected states. We used this information to perform indirect standardization and derive the age-standardized mortality rates for the states for comparison. In addition, we derived a ratio for age-standardized mortality to compare across age groups within the state. We extracted information regarding COVID-19 deaths from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme special surveillance portal up to November 16, 2020. Results The crude mortality rate of India stands at 88.9 per million population(118,883/1,337,328,910). Age-adjusted mortality rate (per million) was highest for Delhi (300.5) and lowest for Kerala (35.9).The age-standardized mortality rate (per million) for India is (<15 years=1.6, 15-29 years=6.3, 30-44 years=35.9, 45-59 years=198.8, 60-74 years=571.2, & ≥75 years=931.6). The ratios for age-standardized mortality increase proportionately from 45-59 years age group across all the states. Conclusion There is high COVID-19 mortality not only among the elderly ages, but we also identified heavy impact of COVID-19 on the working population. Therefore, we recommend further evaluation of age-adjusted mortality for all States and inclusion of variables like gender, socio-economic status for standardization while identifying at-risk populations and implementing priority public health actions. Keywords COVID-19, Mortality, Age Standardized Mortality Rate, Indirect Standardization.


2020 ◽  
pp. 60-67
Author(s):  
Vsevolod Skvortsov

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic nonspecific inflammatory disease caused by immune disorders, mental disorders, genetics, and other factors. Its main clinical manifestations are accompanied by abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stools, weight loss, etc. A distinctive feature of nonspecific ulcerative colitis from Crohn's disease is its limitation by the large intestine, as well as the limited inflammation of the mucous membrane [1]. The disease affects various age groups from infants to the elderly, with a maximum incidence rate between the ages of 15 to 30 years and between 50 and 70 years. UC seriously affects human health and quality of life because of its long duration and repeated attacks, and also there is a risk of developing colorectal cancer. The disease violates the quality of life and leads to disability [2]. The article presents the causes of ulcerative colitis and describes the mechanisms for the development of pathological changes in the intestine. The principles of patient management, taking into account the severity of the disease, and the tactics of rational drug therapy are presented.


ISRN Oncology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Xiao Nong Zou ◽  
Xia Wan ◽  
Zhen Dai ◽  
Gong Huan Yang

Background. Population of elder Chinese has been increasing, but the pattern and trend of cancer in that population was rarely reported. Methods. Mortality rates for cancer of all sites and of the site specific of the overall and elderly Chinese from 2004 to 2005 were estimated. The age structure of world population was used to observe the changes in the age-standardized mortality rates from 1975 to 2005 using the data from the national death surveys, Disease Surveillance Points, and cancer registries in China. Results. The mortalities among the elderly Chinese were 782.12 per 100,000, substantially higher than those of the people less than 60 years old. The mortalities for cancers of lung, stomach, liver, and esophagus in elderly population showed great increase compared to younger ages. Stomach cancer ranked as the second most common cancer following lung cancer in the elderly, and those two malignancies had similar mortality rates in male elderly, while in female, it ranked as first, surpassed lung cancer. Consistent decreased trends of M/I ratios of cancer were observed in all age groups. Conclusion. Strategies in cancer prevention and cost-effective preventive intervention should be highly considered and strongly implemented among the elderly Chinese.


Author(s):  
Assel Izekenova ◽  
Akbota Tolegenova ◽  
Aigulsum Izekenova ◽  
Alina Rakhmatullina

Covid-19 pandemics has affected the lives of all level population but brought an unprecedented threat to the health and daily life of the elderly population. Starting from Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, the virus spread to the world fleetingly, from 44 cases in January 2019 to 171,615,923 cases all around the world as of June 01, 2021, including Kazakhstan. SARS-CoV-2 positive patients had shown asymptomatic, mild, severe, and critical symptoms which brought to respiratory failure, shock, or multiorgan dysfunction in 5% of cases. The severity of the disease correlated with the older age and existing medical conditions, making the geriatric population more at hazard. A remarkable superiority of cases and deaths of Covid-19 was found within the elderly group, and particularly in those with pre-existing conditions and comorbidities, additionally to the immunosenescence and inflamm-aging. Studies done in the USA, Europe, and Asian countries showed a similar prevalence of the disease among adults and older people, but the mortality was extremely higher than in other age groups. Despite the similar prevalence, Kazakhstani researchers revealed a higher mortality rate (83.3%) than those countries. Therefore, the world, especially developing countries, needs additional advanced policies in vaccination policy, immediate testing, easy access to healthcare and information without ageist biases, income security, and more researches should be done that can address the issues, improve the lives and diminish the mortality of the geriatric population.


Author(s):  
Joseph T. Wu ◽  
Shujiang Mei ◽  
Sihui Luo ◽  
Kathy Leung ◽  
Di Liu ◽  
...  

Prolonged school closure has been adopted worldwide to control COVID-19. Indeed, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization figures show that two-thirds of an academic year was lost on average worldwide due to COVID-19 school closures. Such pre-emptive implementation was predicated on the premise that school children are a core group for COVID-19 transmission. Using surveillance data from the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Anqing together, we inferred that compared with the elderly aged 60 and over, children aged 18 and under and adults aged 19–59 were 75% and 32% less susceptible to infection, respectively. Using transmission models parametrized with synthetic contact matrices for 177 jurisdictions around the world, we showed that the lower susceptibility of school children substantially limited the effectiveness of school closure in reducing COVID-19 transmissibility. Our results, together with recent findings that clinical severity of COVID-19 in children is lower, suggest that school closure may not be ideal as a sustained, primary intervention for controlling COVID-19. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Data science approach to infectious disease surveillance’.


Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karoly Bozsonyi ◽  
Peter Osvath ◽  
Sandor Fekete ◽  
Lajos Bálint

Abstract. Background: Several studies found a significant relationship between important sport events and suicidal behavior. Aims: We set out to investigate whether there is a significant relationship between the raw suicide rate and the most important international sports events (Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship) in such an achievement-oriented society as the Hungarian one, where these sport events receive great attention. Method: We examined suicide cases occurring over 15,706 days between January 1, 1970, and December 31, 2012 (43 years), separately for each gender. Because of the age-specific characteristics of suicide, the effects of these sport events were analyzed for the middle-aged (30–59 years old) and the elderly (over 60 years old) generations as well as for gender-specific population groups. The role of international sport events was examined with the help of time-series intervention analysis after cyclical and seasonal components were removed. Intervention analysis was based on the ARIMA model. Results: Our results showed that only the Olympic Games had a significant effect in the middle-aged population. Neither in the older male nor in any of the female age groups was a relationship between suicide and Olympic Games detected. Conclusion: The Olympic Games seem to decrease the rate of suicide among middle-aged men, slightly but significantly.


2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S16-S18 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Brand ◽  
N. von der Weid

SummaryThe Swiss Haemophilia Registry of the Medical Committee of the Swiss Haemophilia Society was established in 2000. Primarily it bears epidemiological and basic clinical data (incidence, type and severity of the disease, age groups, centres, mortality). Two thirds of the questions of the WFH Global Survey can be answered, especially those concerning use of concentrates (global, per capita) and treatment modalities (on-demand versus prophylactic regimens). Moreover, the registry is an important tool for quality control of the haemophilia treatment centres.There are no informations about infectious diseases like hepatitis or HIV, due to non-anonymisation of the data. We plan to incorporate the results of the mutation analysis in the future.


2019 ◽  
pp. 5-34
Author(s):  
Anna L. Lukyanova ◽  
Rostislav I. Kapeliushnikov

The paper analyzes changes in job opportunities of older workers in Russia in the period 2005—2017. The study uses the data from the Russian Labor Force Survey conducted by Rosstat. Changes in the occupational and industrial composition of elderly workers follow the trends pursued by other age groups: employment shifts from low- to high-skilled occupations, from physical to intellectual labor, and from material production to the service sector. We find a stronger polarization among older workers as their occupational structure is biased in favor of, on the one hand, the most and, on the other hand, the least qualified types of jobs. Employment of the elderly has fallen sharply in agriculture and manufacturing with a significant increase in trade, education, and health. Although the employment structure of older workers is generally more “traditionalist”, recent decades have witnessed its transformation in “progressive” directions, similarly to other age groups. These findings suggest that the legislated increase in the state retirement age is not likely to give rise to sizeable unemployment among the elderly. Most of them will be able to work in the occupations and industries previously dominated by young and prime-age workers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 1466-1472
Author(s):  
Grażyna Kobus ◽  
Jolanta Małyszko ◽  
Hanna Bachórzewska-Gajewska

Introduction: In the elderly, impairment of kidney function occurs. Renal diseases overlap with anatomic and functional changes related to age-related involutionary processes. Mortality among patients with acute renal injury is approximately 50%, despite advances in treatment and diagnosis of AKI. The aim: To assess the incidence of acute kidney injury in elderly patients and to analyze the causes of acute renal failure depending on age. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis included medical documentation of patients hospitalized in the Nephrology Clinic during the 6-month period. During this period 452 patients were hospitalized in the clinic. A group of 77 patients with acute renal failure as a reason for hospitalization was included in the study. Results: The prerenal form was the most common cause of AKI in both age groups. In both age groups, the most common cause was dehydration; in the group of patients up to 65 years of age, dehydration was 29.17%; in the group of people over 65 years - 43.39%. Renal replacement therapy in patients with AKI was used in 14.29% of patients. In the group of patients up to 65 years of age hemodialysis was 16.67% and above 65 years of age. -13.21% of patients. The average creatinine level in the group of younger patients at admission was 5.16 ± 3.71 mg / dl, in the group of older patients 3.14 ± 1.63 mg / dl. The size of glomerular filtration GFR in the group of younger patients at admission was 21.14 ± 19.54 ml / min, in the group of older patients 23.34 ± 13.33 ml / min. Conclusions: The main cause of acute kidney injury regardless of the age group was dehydration. Due to the high percentage of AKI in the elderly, this group requires more preventive action, not only in the hospital but also at home.


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