Abstract
The number of reported coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths per 100,000 persons observed so far in 2020 is described in 15 European countries and the USA as dependent on age groups and sex. It is compared with the corresponding historic all-cause mortality per year depending on age and sex observed in these countries. Some common features exist although substantial differences in age and sex dependency of COVID-19 mortality were noted between countries. An exponential increase with age is a good model to describe and analyze both COVID-19 and all-cause mortality above 40 years old, where almost all COVID-19 deaths occur. Moreover, age dependency is stronger for COVID-19 mortality than for all-cause mortality, and males have an excess risk compared with women, which is less pronounced in the higher age groups. Additionally, concerning calendar time, differences in the age and sex dependency between countries were noted with the common tendency that male excess risk for COVID-19 mortality was smaller in the second half of the year.
Highlights
The number of reported coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths per 100,000 persons observed so far in 2020 is described in 15 European countries and the United States of America (USA) as dependent on age groups and sex
This study aims to descriptively analyze the age- and sex-specific COVID-19 population mortality rates in 15 European countries plus the USA for which sufficiently detailed numbers are available in the year 2020 from public sources
Population fatality rates were analyzed and defined as the number of COVID-19 deaths divided by the total number of persons in the respective age groups
Summary
The number of reported coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths per 100,000 persons observed so far in 2020 is described in 15 European countries and the USA as dependent on age groups and sex. It is compared with the corresponding historic all-cause mortality per year depending on age and sex observed in these countries. This paper focused on the analysis of the population mortality rate, defined as the ratio of deceased in a certain age and sex group and the population size in that group in a certain period The latter quantity can be estimated based on COVID-19 mortality figures reported in different countries. Analyses of excess mortality in several countries indicate that not all COVID-19 deaths were documented, some of the excess mortality may be due to indirect effects of the pandemic (e.g., overburdened health systems)[9]
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