Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37732085›Full record

Observational studyFrontiers in public health2023

Excess mortality among older adults institutionalized in long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based analysis in Catalonia.

Laia Cases, Emili Vela, Sebastià J Santaeugènia Gonzàlez, Joan Carles Contel, Gerard Carot-Sans, Marc Coca, Marta Pastor, Ignasi Carrasco, Conxita Barbeta, Anna Vila and 5 more

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Frontiers in public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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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

15 authors.

Laia CasesCentral Catalonia Chronicity Research Group (C3RG), Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC), Barcelona, Spain.
Emili VelaCatalan Health Service, Barcelona, Spain.
Sebastià J Santaeugènia GonzàlezCentral Catalonia Chronicity Research Group (C3RG), Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC), Barcelona, Spain.
Joan Carles ContelCentral Catalonia Chronicity Research Group (C3RG), Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC), Barcelona, Spain.
Gerard Carot-SansCatalan Health Service, Barcelona, Spain.
Marc CocaCatalan Health Service, Barcelona, Spain.
Marta PastorCatalan Health Service, Barcelona, Spain.
Ignasi CarrascoCentral Catalonia Chronicity Research Group (C3RG), Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC), Barcelona, Spain.
Conxita BarbetaIntegrated Social and Health Care Program, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Anna VilaIntegrated Social and Health Care Program, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Paloma AmilGeneral Directorate of Health and Research Planning, Department of Health, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Aina PlazaGeneral Directorate of Health and Research Planning, Department of Health, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Caridad PontesCatalan Health Service, Barcelona, Spain.
Jordi Piera-JiménezCatalan Health Service, Barcelona, Spain.
Jordi AmblàsCentral Catalonia Chronicity Research Group (C3RG), Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVIC-UCC), Barcelona, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: To assess excess mortality among older adults institutionalized in nursing homes within the successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Catalonia (north-east Spain). Design: Observational, retrospective analysis of population-based central healthcare registries. Setting and participants: Individuals aged >65 years admitted in any nursing home in Catalonia between January 1, 2015, and April 1, 2022. Methods: Deaths reported during the pre-pandemic period (2015-2019) were used to build a reference model for mortality trends (a Poisson model, due to the event counting nature of the variable "mortality"), adjusted by age, sex, and clinical complexity, defined according to the adjusted morbidity groups. Excess mortality was estimated by comparing the observed and model-based expected mortality during the pandemic period (2020-2022). Besides the crude excess mortality, we estimated the standardized mortality rate (SMR) as the ratio of weekly deaths' number observed to the expected deaths' number over the same period. Results: The analysis included 175,497 older adults institutionalized (mean 262 days, SD 132), yielding a total of 394,134 person-years: 288,948 person-years within the reference period (2015-2019) and 105,186 within the COVID-19 period (2020-2022). Excess number of deaths in this population was 5,403 in the first wave and 1,313, 111, -182, 498, and 329 in the successive waves. The first wave on March 2020 showed the highest SMR (2.50; 95% CI 2.45-2.56). The corresponding SMR for the 2nd to 6th waves were 1.31 (1.27-1.34), 1.03 (1.00-1.07), 0.93 (0.89-0.97), 1.13 (1.10-1.17), and 1.07 (1.04-1.09). The number of excess deaths following the first wave ranged from 1,313 (2nd wave) to -182 (4th wave). Excess mortality showed similar trends for men and women. Older adults and those with higher comorbidity burden account for higher number of deaths, albeit lower SMRs. Conclusion: Excess mortality analysis suggest a higher death toll of the COVID-19 crisis in nursing homes than in other settings. Although crude mortality rates were far higher among older adults and those at higher health risk, younger individuals showed persistently higher SMR, indicating an important death toll of the COVID-19 in these groups of people.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsAgedFemaleHumansLong-Term CareMaleRetrospective StudiesSpainCOVID-19excess mortalitylong-term carenursing homeolder adults

Identifiers

PMID37732085
PMCPMC10507684

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.