Excess mortality from COVID-19: weekly excess death rates by age and sex for Sweden and its most affected region.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sweden has one of the highest numbers of COVID-19 deaths per inhabitant globally. However, absolute death counts can be misleading. Estimating age- and sex-specific mortality rates is necessary in order to account for the underlying population structure. Furthermore, given the difficulty of assigning causes of death, excess all-cause mortality should be estimated to assess the overall burden of the pandemic.

Methods

By estimating weekly age- and sex-specific death rates during 2020 and during the preceding 5 years, our aim is to get more accurate estimates of the excess mortality attributed to COVID-19 in Sweden, and in the most affected region Stockholm.

Results

Eight weeks after Sweden's first confirmed case, the death rates at all ages above 60 were high

SUBMITTER: Modig K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7717265 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature