Older age groups and country-specific case fatality rates of COVID-19 in Europe, USA and Canada.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To evaluate the association between the percentages of older age groups among confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections and the country-specific case fatality rate (CFR).

Methods

This ecological study analyzed data from the 20 most severely affected European countries, USA and Canada, in which national health authorities provided data on age distribution and gender among confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases and deaths.

Results

The proportion of individuals older than 70 years among confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases differed markedly between the countries, ranging from 4.9 to 40.4%. There was a strong linear association between the proportion of individuals older than 75 years and the country-specific CFRs (R² = 0.803 for all countries, R² = 0.961 after exclusion of

SUBMITTER: Hoffmann C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7585357 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature