Observational studyAnnals of internal medicine2022
Historically High Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain.
Observational study in Annals of internal medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Does DRG-based payment lead to unintended effects on care quality? A case under global budget with price adjustment in China.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Changes in influenza-associated excess mortality in China between 2012-2019 and 2020-2021: a population-based statistical modelling study.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2025Article
- The health and demographic impacts of the "Russian flu" pandemic in Switzerland in 1889/1890 and in the years thereafter.Epidemiology and infection · 2024Article
- An Unwanted but Long-Known Company: Post-Viral Symptoms in the Context of Past Pandemics in Switzerland (and Beyond).Public health reviews · 2024Review
- Article
- Depression trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic in the high-quality health care setting of Switzerland: the COVCO-Basel cohort.Public health · 2023Article
- Two complementary approaches to estimate an excess of mortality: The case of Switzerland 2022.PloS one · 2023Article
- Examining the Indirect Death Surveillance System of The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Excess mortality in Mountain Areas of Emilia Romagna Region during the first months of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a "canary in the coal mine"?Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2022Article
- Excess Mortality on Italian Small Islands during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An Ecological Study.Infectious disease reports · 2022Article
- Survival among people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Switzerland: a nationwide population-based analysis.BMC medicine · 2022Article
- COVID-19 Autopsies Reveal Underreporting of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Scarcity of Co-infections.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Mortality in Switzerland in 2021.PloS one · 2022Article
- Differences in mortality in Switzerland by citizenship during the first and second COVID-19 waves: Analysis of death statistics.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExcess mortality quantifies the overall mortality impact of a pandemic. Mortality data have been accessible for many countries in recent decades, but few continuous data have been available for longer periods.
objectiveTo assess the historical dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 for 3 countries with reliable death count data over an uninterrupted span of more than 100 years.
designObservational study.
settingSwitzerland, Sweden, and Spain, which were militarily neutral and not involved in combat during either world war and have not been affected by significant changes in their territory since the end of the 19th century.
participantsComplete populations of these 3 countries. MEASUREMENTS: Continuous series of recorded deaths (from all causes) by month from the earliest available year (1877 for Switzerland, 1851 for Sweden, and 1908 for Spain) were jointly modeled with annual age group-specific death and total population counts using negative binomial and multinomial models, which accounted for temporal trends and seasonal variability of prepandemic years. The aim was to estimate the expected number of deaths in a pandemic year for a nonpandemic scenario and the difference in observed and expected deaths aggregated over the year.
resultsIn 2020, the number of excess deaths recorded per 100 000 persons was 100 (95% credible interval [CrI], 60 to 135) for Switzerland, 75 (CrI, 40 to 105) for Sweden, and 155 (CrI, 110 to 195) for Spain. In 1918, excess mortality was 6 to 7 times higher. In all 3 countries, the peaks of monthly excess mortality in 2020 were greater than most monthly excess mortality since 1918, including many peaks due to seasonal influenza and heat waves during that period. LIMITATION: Historical vital statistics might be affected by minor completeness issues before the beginning of the 20th century.
conclusionIn 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the second-largest infection-related mortality disaster in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain since the beginning of the 20th century. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Foundation for Research in Science and the Humanities at the University of Zurich, Swiss National Science Foundation, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
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