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Objective: The role of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) in the pandemic context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to be debated. Patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, cerebro-cardiovascular disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who often use ACEi/ARB, may affect risk of severe COVID-19. However, there are no data available on the association of ACEi/ARB use with COVID-19 severity in this population. Design and method: This study is an observational study of patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and inpatient treatment at a healthcare facility, using the registry information of COVIREGI-JP. Our primary outcomes were consisting of in-hospital death, ventilator support, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support, and ICU admission. Out of the 6,055 patients, 1,921 patients with preexisting hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, cerebro-cardiovascular disease, or COPD were enrolled. We also evaluated 1,097 patients with hypertension. Results: Factors associated with an increased risk of the primary outcomes were aging, male sex, COPD, severe renal impairment, and diabetes mellitus. No correlations were observed with ACEi/ARB, cerebro-cardiovascular diseases, or hypertension. Associated factors in male patients were aging, renal impairment, hypertension, and diabetes. In female patients, factors associated with an increased risk were aging, ACEi/ARB, renal impairment, and diabetes, whereas hypertension was associated with a lower risk of the primary outcomes. In patients with hypertension, factors associated with an increased risk of the primary outcomes were aging, male sex, severe renal impairment, and diabetes mellitus, but not ACEi/ ARB, cerebro-cardiovascular diseases, or COPD. Conclusions: Independent factors for the primary outcomes were aging, male sex, COPD, severe renal impairment, and diabetes, but not ACEi/ARB, in the COVID-19 patients with preexisting hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, cerebro-cardiovascular disease or COPD. Based on this registry data analysis, more detailed data collection and analysis is needed with the cooperation of multiple healthcare facilities.
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This study empirically examines how the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted foreign direct investment (FDI), using the quarterly data on bilateral FDI flows from 173 home to 192 host economies from the first quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2021. The severity of COVID-19 in host economies adversely affected FDI in the manufacturing sector regardless of the entry mode, but the effect of home economies' COVID-19 situation on FDI was insignificant. On the other hand, in the services sector, the severity of COVID-19 in both host and home economies has significantly negative impact on greenfield FDI, not on cross-border M&A.
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OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of post-COVID conditions beyond 12 months and identify factors associated with the persistence of each condition. STUDY DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey. METHODS: We conducted the survey among patients who had recovered from COVID-19 and visited our institute between February 2020 and November 2021. Demographic and clinical data and data regarding the presence and duration of post-COVID conditions were obtained. We identified factors associated with the persistence of post-COVID conditions using multivariable linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Of 1148 surveyed patients, 502 completed the survey (response rate, 43.7%). Of these, 393 patients (86.4%) had mild disease in the acute phase. The proportion of participants with at least one symptom at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after symptom onset or COVID-19 diagnosis was 32.3% (124/384), 30.5% (71/233), 25.8% (24/93), and 33.3% (2/6), respectively. The observed associations were as follows: fatigue persistence with moderate or severe COVID-19 (ß = 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.06-0.99); shortness of breath with moderate or severe COVID-19 (ß = 1.39, 95% CI = 0.91-1.87); cough with moderate or severe COVID-19 (ß = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.40-1.29); dysosmia with being female (ß = -0.57, 95% CI = -0.97 to -0.18) and absence of underlying medical conditions (ß = -0.43, 95% CI = -0.82 to -0.05); hair loss with being female (ß = -0.61, 95% CI = -1.00 to -0.22), absence of underlying medical conditions (ß = -0.42, 95% CI = -0.80 to 0.04), and moderate or severe COVID-19 (ß = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.41-1.54); depressed mood with younger age (ß = -0.02, 95% CI = -0.04 to -0.004); and loss of concentration with being female (ß = -0.51, 95% CI = -0.94 to -0.09). CONCLUSIONS: More than one-fourth of patients after recovery from COVID-19, most of whom had had mild disease in the acute phase, had at least one symptom at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after onset of COVID-19, indicating that not a few patients with COVID-19 suffer from long-term residual symptoms, even in mild cases.
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COVID-19 , Humans , Female , Male , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome , COVID-19 Testing , Cross-Sectional Studies , CoughABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of post coronavirus disease (COVID-19) condition of the Omicron variant in comparison to other strains. STUDY DESIGN: A single-center cross-sectional study. METHODS: Patients who recovered from Omicron COVID-19 infection (Omicron group) were interviewed via telephone, and patients infected with other strains (control group) were surveyed via a self-reporting questionnaire. Data on patients' characteristics, information regarding the acute-phase COVID-19, as well as presence and duration of COVID-19-related symptoms were obtained. Post COVID-19 condition in this study was defined as a symptom that lasted for at least 2 months, within 3 months of COVID-19 onset. We investigated and compared the prevalence of post COVID-19 condition in both groups after performing propensity score matching. RESULTS: We conducted interviews for 53 out of 128 patients with Omicron and obtained 502 responses in the control group. After matching cases with controls, 18 patients from both groups had improved covariate balance of the factors: older adult, female sex, obesity, and vaccination status. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of each post COVID-19 condition between the two groups. The number of patients with at least one post COVID-19 condition in the Omicron and control groups were 1 (5.6%) and 10 (55.6%) (p = 0.003), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of post Omicron COVID-19 conditions was less than that of the other strains. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to investigate the precise epidemiology of post COVID-19 condition of Omicron, and its impact on health-related quality of life and social productivity.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Aged , COVID-19/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Quality of LifeABSTRACT
Despite the increase in COVID-19 cases globally, the number of cases in Japan has been relatively low, and an explosive surge in the prevalence has not occurred. In March 2020, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan recommended the original criteria for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, although there was a lack of evidence for appropriate targets for COVID-19 testing. This study aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 positive ratio and pre-screening criteria in Tokyo immediately after the insurance-covered SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing became available in Japan. We subjected 277 individuals with mild symptoms in metropolitan Tokyo (positive: 9.0%) from March 9 to 29, 2020, to SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing. The results revealed that 25 (9.0%) of them were PCR-positive. The sensitivity and specificity of the MHLW criteria were 100% and 10.7%, respectively. When the criteria excluded nonspecific symptoms, fatigue, and dyspnea, the sensitivity slightly decreased to 92%, and the specificity increased to 22.2%. The specificity was highest when the fever criterion was >= 37.5 degrees C for >= 4 days, and exposure/travel history, including age and underlying comorbidities, was considered. Our findings suggest that the MHLW criteria, including the symptoms and exposure/travel history, may be useful for COVID-19 pre-screening.
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As a background sampling site in western Japan, the Kanazawa University Wajima Air Monitoring Station (KUWAMS) continuously observes the air pollutants, including PM1, PM2.5, organic carbon (OC) and element carbon (EC). Data for September 2019 to April 2020 were compared with data for September 2018 to April 2019. The mean concentrations of both PM1 and PM2.5 were 4.10 micro g/m3 (47%) and 5.82 micro g/m3 (33%) lower, respectively in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) period (January to April) than in the same period in 2019. Notably, the average concentrations of both classes of particulate matter (PM) in the COVID-19 period were the lowest for that period in all years since 2016. OC and EC also considerably lower (by 69 and 63%, respectively) during the COVID-19 period than during the same period in 2019. All pollutants were then started to increase after the resumption of the work in 2020. The pollutant variations correspond to the measure implemented during the COVID-19 period, including the nationwide lockdown and work resumption. Furthermore, the reductions in the ratios PM1/PM2.5 and OC/EC during COVID-19 period indicate lighter pollution and fewer emission sources. This analysis of the changes in the pollutant concentrations during the epidemic and non-epidemic periods illustrates the significance of the dominant pollution emissions at KUWAMS and the impact of pollution from China that undergoes long-range transport to KUWAMS.
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The aim of this study is to quantify how lockdown policies implemented in response to the COVID19 pandemic affected international trade in the first half of 2020. We examine monthly world trade data between January and June in both 2019 and 2020. Our findings can be summarized as follows. Stay-at-home orders did not have significant and robust effects on trade. Negative effects were found in only some industries, including those producing durable products and essential products. However, workplace closures had significant negative effects on trade, except for intra-Asian trade. These effects of workplace closures can be found in most industries.
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This study empirically investigates how much economic and social activities were decreased by the implementation of lockdown policies during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We measure the magnitude of those activities using nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions. Our observations include daily NO2 emissions in 173 countries from January 1 to July 31, 2020. Our findings can be summarized as follows. Lockdown policies significantly decreased NO2 emissions in low-income countries during policy and post-policy periods. In high-income countries, however, NO2 emissions increased during both periods. In addition, the absolute impact of lockdown policies was larger during the post-policy period than during the policy period. While the stay-at-home policy reduced NO2 emissions, we did not discover robust differences between regions in its effect. © 2021 Institute of Developing Economies
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We analysed associations between exposure to nightlife businesses and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 PCR test results at a tertiary hospital in Tokyo between March and April 2020. A nightlife group was defined as those who had worked at or visited the businesses. We included 1517 individuals; 196 (12.9%) were categorised as the nightlife group. After propensity score matching, the proportion of positive PCR tests in the nightlife group was significantly higher than that in the non-nightlife group (nightlife, 63.8%; non-nightlife, 23.0%; P < 0.001). An inclusive approach to mitigate risks related to the businesses needs to be identified.
Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus , Coronavirus Infections/transmission , Pneumonia, Viral/transmission , Adult , COVID-19 , Commerce , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Tokyo/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were continuously observed at Kanazawa University Wajima Air Monitoring Station (KUWAMS), a background site located in western Japan and downwind of mainland China that is constantly under the influence of polluted air masses originating from China. The observations showed that the concentration of particulate PAHs at KUWAMS sharply dropped to the lowest level (62 pg m–3) of the cold season in the last 5 years after the implementation of COVID-19 control measures in China. Despite the occasional dilution with clean air, the decrease in PAHs at KUWAMS reflected the reduction in emission intensity in China. Moreover, the PAH concentrations at KUWAMS in February, March, and April of 2020 compared with the same period in the previous year decreased by 52.6%, 36.6%, and 36.7%, respectively. These changes were consistent with the decline in SO2 and NO2 in northern China, which intensified during the control of COVID-19 and was slightly moderated after the resumption of work. In addition, there was little change in the composition of PAHs at KUWAMS before and during the COVID-19 outbreak and compared with previous years, which suggests a stable source composition. These findings emphasize the importance of decreased emission intensity in China for reducing long-range transport of PAHs and pollution levels in downwind areas. © The Author(s).