Injury mortality and morbidity changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID22066620
AuthorsJieyi He (0000-0003-4066-8016, Central South University), Peishan Ning (0000-0002-9919-4495, Central South University), David C Schwebel (0000-0002-2141-8970, University of Alabama at Birmingham), Yang Yang (0000-0002-3705-7612, University of Georgia), Li Li (0000-0001-9700-9682, Central South University), Peixia Cheng (0000-0002-1008-8419, Central South University), Zhenzhen Rao (0000-0002-1509-3671, Central South University), Guoqing Hu (0000-0002-5002-8015, Central South University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume10
Pages1001567-1001567
Publication date2022-11-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2022.1001567
PMID36408028
OpenAlexW4308128746
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited30

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed society. We aimed to examine the systematic impact of the COVID-19 on injury burden in the United States. Methods: We extracted mortality and morbidity data from CDC WONDER and WISQARS. We estimated age-standardized injury mortality rate ratio and morbidity rate ratio (MtRR and MbRR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for all injuries, all unintentional injuries, homicide/assault by all methods, suicide/self-harm by all methods, as well as other 11 specific unintentional or intentional injury categories. Injury rate ratios were compared for 2020 vs. 2019 to those of 2019 vs. 2018 to demonstrate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on fatal and nonfatal injury burden. The ratio of MtRRs (RMtRR) and the ratio of MbRRs (RMbRR) with 95% CI between 2020 vs. 2019 and 2019 vs. 2018 were calculated separately. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in injury mortality (RMtRR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.13) but injury morbidity decreased (RMbRR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.88, 0.89) when the changes of these rates from 2019 to 2020 were compared to those from 2018 to 2019. Mortality disparities between the two time periods were primarily driven by greater mortality during the COVID-influenced 2020 vs. 2019 from road traffic crashes (particularly motorcyclist mortality), drug poisoning, and homicide by firearm. Similar patterns were not present from 2019 vs. 2018. There were morbidity reductions from road traffic crashes (particularly occupant and pedestrian morbidity from motor vehicle crashes), unintentional falls, and self-harm by suffocation from 2019 to 2020 compared to the previous period. Change patterns in sexes and age groups were generally similar, but exceptions were observed for some injury types. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed specific injury burden in the United States. Some discrepancies also existed across sex and age groups, meriting attention of injury researchers and policymakers to tailor injury prevention strategies to particular populations and the environmental contexts citizens face

Confidence interval · Disease · Homicide · Injury prevention · Mortality rate · Occupational safety and health · Pandemic · Poison control · Rate ratio · Suicide prevention · COVID-19 and healthcare impacts · Demography · Gun Ownership and Violence Research · Injury Epidemiology and Prevention · Medicine · Emergency Medicine · Internal Medicine