Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39905566›Full record

ArticlePneumonia (Nathan Qld.)2025

Outcomes of COVID-19 in the Omicron-predominant wave: large-scale real-world data analysis with a comparison to influenza.

Koichi Miyashita, Hironao Hozumi, Kazuki Furuhashi, Eiji Nakatani, Yusuke Inoue, Hideki Yasui, Yuzo Suzuki, Masato Karayama, Noriyuki Enomoto, Tomoyuki Fujisawa and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pneumonia (Nathan Qld.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing 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

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
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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

13 authors.

Koichi MiyashitaSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Hironao HozumiSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan. hozumi@hama-med.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5439-1543
Kazuki FuruhashiSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Eiji NakataniDepartment of Biostatistics and Data Science, Graduate School of Medical Science, Nagoya City University, 1 Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan.
Yusuke InoueSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Hideki YasuiSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Yuzo SuzukiSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Masato KarayamaSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Noriyuki EnomotoSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Tomoyuki FujisawaSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Naoki InuiDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Toshiyuki OjimaDepartment of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.
Takafumi SudaSecond Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu, 431-3192, Japan.

Funding

Study Group on Diffuse Lung Disease and the Scientific Research/Research on Intractable Diseases in the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare JPMH23FC1030Wellcome Trust FC001030
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeStudies on COVID-19 mortality during the Omicron-predominant wave have focused primarily on the inpatient/emergency room setting, and real-world data including both inpatients and outpatients are lacking.

methodsPatients diagnosed with COVID-19 (n = 27,440,148) or influenza (n = 8,179,641) from January 2020 to April 2023 were identified using nationwide claims data in Japan. Patients with COVID-19 in the Omicron-predominant wave were compared with their counterparts in earlier waves, and a subset of the former group (May 2022-April 2023) was compared with patients with influenza as controls.

resultsThe mortality rates (average number of deaths/cases per week) of COVID-19 decreased over time, being 2.7% (169/6312), 2.1% (397/18,754), 0.7% (195/28,273), and 0.4% (1613/378,848) in the wild-type-, Alpha-, Delta-, and Omicron-predominant waves, respectively. However, the number of deaths increased substantially in the Omicron-predominant wave, especially among the elderly (e.g., in the Delta- and Omicron-predominant waves, the average numbers of deaths/cases per week were < 1/5527 (< 0.01%) and 4/105,763 (< 0.01%) respectively, in patients aged 0-19, versus 101/925 (10.9%) and 1212/20,771 (5.8%), respectively, in patients aged ≥ 80). The mortality rate was lower for patients with COVID-19 than in those with influenza among those aged ≤ 39 years but higher among those aged ≥ 40 years.

conclusionsIn the Omicron-predominant wave, the mortality rate of COVID-19 decreased, but the number of patients increased, leading to a substantial increase in the number of deaths, especially among the elderly. The mortality rate of COVID-19 was higher than that of influenza in the elderly but not in the young, highlighting the need for age-specific interventions.

Indexed as

COVID-19InfluenzaMortalityNational Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of JapanNDB

Identifiers

PMID39905566
PMCPMC11796215

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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.