Abstract
Context: The human development territories have been severely constrained under the Covid-19 pandemic. A common dynamics has been observed, but its propagation has not been homogeneous over each continent. We aimed at characterizing the non-viral parameters that were most associated with death rate.Methods: We tested major indices from five domains (demography, public health, economy, politics, environment) and their potential associations with Covid-19 mortality during the first 8 months of 2020, through a Principal Component Analysis and a correlation matrix with a Pearson correlation test. Data of all countries, or states in federal countries, showing at least 10 fatality cases, were retrieved from official public sites. For countries that have not yet finished the first epidemic phase, a prospective model has been computed to provide options of death rates evolution.Results: Higher Covid death rates are observed in the [25/65°] latitude and in the [−35/−125°] longitude ranges. The national criteria most associated with death rate are life expectancy and its slowdown, public health context (metabolic and non-communicable diseases (NCD) burden vs. infectious diseases prevalence), economy (growth national product, financial support), and environment (temperature, ultra-violet index). Stringency of the measures settled to fight pandemia, including lockdown, did not appear to be linked with death rate.Conclusion: Countries that already experienced a stagnation or regression of life expectancy, with high income and NCD rates, had the highest price to pay. This burden was not alleviated by more stringent public decisions. Inherent factors have predetermined the Covid-19 mortality: understanding them may improve prevention strategies by increasing population resilience through better physical fitness and immunity.
Highlights
Out of the many environmental options, human populations have concentrated in the most favorable development niche, characterized by a local mean annual temperature around 11– 15◦C [1], corresponding to a narrow latitude strip
In the plains of that strip, the highest life expectancies have been experienced by the populations and most of the human longevity maxima have been recorded [2], showing that the niche coincides with and allows for the highest capacities of the human physiological development [1] and wealth creation, associated with elevated gross domestic product (GDP) [3, 4]
Its association was tested with environmental [temperature, humidity, ultra-violet (UV) index]; demographic [life expectancy (LE), progression of LE]; health (CVD death rate, cancer death rate, infectious diseases death rate, obesity rate, sedentary, or inactive lifestyle); GDP and with each government response
Summary
Out of the many environmental options, human populations have concentrated in the most favorable development niche, characterized by a local mean annual temperature around 11– 15◦C [1], corresponding to a narrow latitude strip. In the plains of that strip, the highest life expectancies have been experienced by the populations and most of the human longevity maxima have been recorded [2], showing that the niche coincides with and allows for the highest capacities of the human physiological development [1] and wealth creation, associated with elevated gross domestic product (GDP) [3, 4]. Experiencing a recent phase of stagnation, nations encounter intrinsic and extrinsic limits: plateauing has been demonstrated in the progression of life expectancy [5,6,7], adult height [8], or physiological maxima [9, 10]. Demographical, social, economic, and health parameters may underline population vulnerabilities following the recent development phase
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
