Unraveling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mortality trends in Belgium between 2020-2022.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2458 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712458 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-

COVID-19*/mortality ; COVID-19*/epidemiology ; Mortality*/trends ; Cause of Death*/trends; Humans ; Belgium/epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Adolescent ; Child, Preschool ; Mortality, Premature/trends ; Pandemics ; Child ; Infant ; Aged, 80 and over ; Age Factors ; SARS-CoV-2

Background: Over the past four years, the COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a profound impact on public health, including on mortality trends. This study investigates mortality patterns in Belgium by examining all-cause mortality, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality.
Methods: We retrieved all-cause mortality data from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2022, stratified by age group and sex. A linear mixed model, informed by all-cause mortality from 2009 to 2019, was used to predict non-pandemic all-cause mortality rates in 2020-2022 and estimate excess mortality. Further, we also analyzed trends in cause-specific and premature mortality.
Results: Different all-cause mortality patterns could be observed between the younger (<45 years) and older age groups. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly evident among older age groups. The highest excess mortality occurred in 2020, while a reversal in this trend was evident in 2022. We observed a notable effect of COVID-19 on cause-specific and premature mortality patterns over the three-year period.
Conclusions: Despite a consistent decline in COVID-19 reported mortality over this three-year period, it remains imperative to meticulously monitor mortality trends in the years ahead.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)

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Keywords: Belgium; COVID-19; Cause-specific mortality; Excess mortality; Years of life lost

Date Created: 20241021 Date Completed: 20241022 Latest Revision: 20241024

20241024

PMC11495090

10.1186/s12889-024-20415-x

39434002