Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36127076›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2022

Effect of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games on COVID-19 incidence in Japan: a synthetic control approach.

Daisuke Yoneoka, Akifumi Eguchi, Kentato Fukumoto, Takayuki Kawashima, Yuta Tanoue, Takahiro Tabuchi, Hiroaki Miyata, Cyrus Ghaznavi, Kenji Shibuya, Shuhei Nomura

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 8 institutions in 2 countries.

Daisuke YoneokaInfectious Disease Surveillance Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3525-5092
Akifumi EguchiDepartment of Sustainable Health Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
Kentato FukumotoThe Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-3704-9054
Takayuki KawashimaDepartment of Mathematical and Computing Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuta TanoueInstitute for Business and Finance, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
Takahiro TabuchiThe Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan.
Hiroaki MiyataThe Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan.
Cyrus GhaznaviMedical Education Program, Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, USA.
Kenji ShibuyaThe Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan.
Shuhei NomuraThe Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan nom3.shu@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-2963-7297
Keio University · JPChiba University · JPGakushuin University · JPNational Institute of Infectious Diseases · JPOsaka International Cancer Institute · JPTokyo Institute of Technology · JPWaseda University · JPWashington University in St. Louis · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games (23 July-8 August 2021) were held in the middle of Japan's fifth wave of COVID-19, when the number of cases was on the rise, and coincided with the fourth state of emergency implemented by the host city, Tokyo.

aimThis study aimed to assess whether the hosting of the Games was associated with a change in the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan using a synthetic control method.

methodsA weighted average of control countries with a variety of predictors was used to estimate the counterfactual trajectory of daily COVID-19 cases per 1 000 000 population in the absence of the Games in Japan. Outcome and predictor data were extracted using official and open sources spanning several countries. The predictors comprise the most recent country-level annual or daily data accessible during the Games, including the stringency of the government's COVID-19 response, testing capacity and vaccination capacity; human mobility index; electoral democracy index and demographic, socioeconomic, health and weather information. After excluding countries with missing data, 42 countries were ultimately used as control countries.

resultsThe number of observed cases per 1 000 000 population on the last day of the Games was 109.2 (7-day average), which was 115.7% higher than the counterfactual trajectory comprising 51.0 confirmed cases per 1 000 000 population. During the Olympic period (since 23 July), the observed cumulative number of cases was 61.0% higher than the counterfactual trajectory, comprising 143 072 and 89 210 confirmed cases (p=0.023), respectively. The counterfactual trajectory lagged 10 days behind the observed trends.

conclusionsGiven the increasing likelihood that new emerging infectious diseases will be reported in the future, we believe that the results of this study should serve as a sentinel warning for upcoming mega-events during COVID-19 and future pandemics.

Indexed as

COVID-19SportsHumansIncidenceJapanTokyoCOVID-19Health policyPublic health

Identifiers

PMID36127076
PMCPMC9490294
OpenAlexW4296806998

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.