JAMA: In the first few months of the pandemic, 35% of the additional deaths were related to causes other than COVID-19!

(!--: "page title" -- July 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The death rate in the United States has increased significantly since the emergence of COVID-19But a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that COVID-19 caused only about two-thirds of all new cases in March and AprilResearchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Yale Universityfound that between March 1 and April 25, there were 87,001 over-deaths in the United States, meaning that the number of deaths exceeded the number of deaths expected based on the average for the past five yearsstudy called "Excess Deaths from COVID-19 and Other Causes, March-April 2020" showed that only 65 per cent of additional deaths in March and April were attributed to COVID-19, meaning that more than a third of deaths were related to other causesmore than half of all excess deaths in 14 states, including two of the most populous states -- California and Texas -- are related to potential causes of non-COVID-19, said DrSteven Woolf, honorary director of the VCU Center for Social and HealthWoolf says the data show that the COVID-19 deathtoll reported to the public underestimates the true number of deaths caused by the u.Soutbreak"There are several potential reasons why this data is underestimated," said Woolf, professor of family medicine and population health at JAMAVCU School of Medicinesome of these may reflect underreporting and taking some time to obtain the datacases may involve coVID-19 patients who die from related complications such as heart disease, which may be classified as causeofs of death rather than COVID-19"But the third possibility, and one of the things that we're very concerned about, is indirect death, which is death due to a response to a pandemic," Woolf said"People who have never been infected with the virus may die from other causes, such as medical delays, financial difficulties, or emotional distress, due to the spillover effects of the outbreak."" Woolf and his team found that in March and April the state with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths, the number of deaths from non-COVID-19 deaths rose sharplythese states are Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York (especially New York City) and Pennsylvaniain March and April (the week ending April 11), the five states had 96 percent more diabetes deaths than the average weekly deaths in January and February 2020 the number of deaths from heart disease (89 percent), Alzheimer's disease (64 percent) and stroke (35 percent) also rose sharply study showed a 398 percent increase in heart disease deaths in New York City alone and a 356 percent increase in diabetes deaths Woolf says he and his team suspect that some of these flu pandemics are indirect deaths in people with acute emergencies, such as heart attacks or strokes, who may be too scared to go to the hospital for fear of contracting the virus if the surge in numbers overwhelms hospitals, those seeking emergency care, especially in the areas most affected by the virus, may not be able to get the treatment they need, such as ventilator support VCU C Kenneth and Dianne Wright, chairman of The Distinguished Chair of Population Health and Health Equity, said others could die from a chronic health condition, such as diabetes or cancer, exacerbated by the pandemic others may struggle with the consequences of unemployment or social isolation "
We can't forget mental health," Woolf said "Many people are struggling with depression, drug addiction and financial hardship caused by confinement, and they may become more desperate, and some may commit suicide." people addicted to opioids and other drugs may be overdosing overall, we are seeing far more deaths than we normally expect at this time of year, and COVID-19 is only part of the reason " Woolf and his VCU collaborators Dr Derek Chapman, Dr Roy Sabo and Dr Latoya Hill, as well as Dr Daniel M Weinberger of Yale University, said further research was needed to determine how many people died from COVID-19 and how many were indirectly killed due to COVID-19 problems (social disruption, delays in health care, etc.) " photo source: JAMA Woolf, a family doctor, said the paper's findings highlight the need for health systems and public officials to ensure that services are provided not only for COVID-19 but also for other health issues his research shows what happened in states that were flooded with cases in March and April Woolf fears that the same spike in deaths could now occur in other overburdened states "The findings of our University of Virginia researchers confirm a worrying trend in the United States," Dr Peter Buckley, interim CEO of VCU Health Systems and interim senior vice president of VCU Health Sciences, said "In the United States, community members experiencing health emergencies stay at home -- a decision that can have long-term and sometimes fatal consequences health systems across the country need to let patients know that it is safe and important to seek treatment in the event of a health emergency, whether through telemedicine or in person " Woolf says resources should be used for people who are facing unemployment, loss of income and unsafe food and housing, including helping people with mental health problems such as depression, anxiety or addiction "Government officials need to consider behavioral health care and increase services to patients in need," Woolf said lack of a system to deal with such other health problems will only add to the additional death tolls ":!--/ewebeditor: !---!---ewebeditor: page title"-Study: 35% of the excess deaths in pandemic's early thats to the big days and other sand COVID-19Steven H Woolf et al Excess, From Bigs CO CO-CO-19 and DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.11787 !--/ewebeditor: page.com.