ABSTRACT
Demographers have emphasized the importance of age in explaining the spread and impact on mortality of COVID-19. However, the relationship between COVID-19 with age should be contextualized in relation to other causes of death. This study set out to compare the age pattern of COVID-19 mortality with other major causes of death and across countries, and to use these regularities to impute age-specific death counts in countries with partial data. Using US vital Statistics, the COVID-19 mortality doubling time in a Gompertz context was compared with 65 major causes of death. COVID-19 fatality and mortality doubling times were similarly compared within and between 27 countries, using harmonized demographic databases of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. Several findings are supported by the empirical evidence. First, COVID-19 mortality increases exponentially with age at a Gompertz rate near the median of aging-related causes of death, as well as pneumonia and influenza. Second, COVID-19 mortality levels are 2.8 to 8.2 times higher than pneumonia and influenza across the adult age range. Third, the relationship between both COVID-19 fatality and mortality with age varies considerably across countries. Fourth, COVID-19 deaths by age are imputed for Israel as a case in point. In conclusion, the increase in COVID-19 mortality with age resembles the population rate of aging. Country differences in the age pattern of COVID-19 fatality and mortality may point to differences in underlying population health, standards of clinical care, and data quality. This study underscores the need to contextualize the age pattern of COVID-19 mortality in relation to other causes of death.
ABSTRACT
COVerAGE-DB is an open-access database including cumulative counts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, deaths, and tests by age and sex. The main goal of COVerAGE-DB is to provide a centralized, standardized, age-harmonized, and fully reproducible database of COVID-19 data. Original data and sources are provided alongside data and measures in age-harmonized formats. An international team, composed of more than 60 researchers, contributed to the collection of data and metadata in COVerAGE-DB from governmental institutions, as well as to the design and implementation of the data processing and validation pipeline. The database is still in development, and at this writing, it includes 89 countries, and 237 subnational areas. Cumulative counts of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and tests are recorded daily (when possible) since January 2020. Many time series thus fully capture the first pandemic wave and the beginning of later waves. Since collection efforts began for COVerAGE-DB several studies have used the data.
