Significant but small: the modest impact of population ageing on reported COVID-19 case rates worldwide.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Older adults experienced disproportionate morbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the independent contribution of population ageing to cross-national variation in reported COVID-19 case rates remains insufficiently examined.

Research design and methods

This global ecological study analyzed data from 215 "countries" to assess whether ageing independently predicts COVID-19 case rates, which are influenced by national testing capacity and reporting practices. Confounding variables included economic affluence, the Henneberg Index, urbanization, and vaccination coverage. Analyses comprised bivariate correlations, principal component analysis, and multiple linear regression (enter and stepwise), with subgroup analyses by income level, development status, and Wo

SUBMITTER: You W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12940146 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature