Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on other health issues explained

The COVID-19 pandemic has had many impacts on global health beyond those caused by the COVID-19 diseaseCOVID-19 disease itself. It has led to a reduction in hospital visits for other reasons. There have been 38 per cent fewer hospital visits for heart attack symptoms in the United States and 40 per cent fewer in Spain.[1] The head of cardiology at the University of Arizona said, "My worry is some of these people are dying at home because they're too scared to go to the hospital."[2] There is also concern that people with strokes and appendicitis are not seeking timely treatment.[2] Shortages of medical supplies have impacted people with various conditions.[3]

In several countries there has been a marked reduction of spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, attributable to COVID-19 quarantines, social distancing measures, and recommendations to not engage in casual sex.[4] [5] [6] Similarly, in some places, rates of transmission of influenza and other respiratory viruses significantly decreased during the pandemic.[7] [8] [9] In addition, the B/Yamagata lineage of influenza B might have become extinct in 2020/2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic measures,[10] [11] and there have been no naturally occurring cases confirmed since March 2020. In 2023, the World Health Organization concluded that protection against the Yamagata lineage was no longer necessary in the seasonal flu vaccine, reducing the number of lineages targeted by the vaccine from four to three.[12] [13]

The pandemic has also negatively impacted mental health globally, including increased loneliness resulting from social distancing[14] and depression and domestic violence from lockdowns.[15] As of June 2020, 40% of U.S. adults were experiencing adverse mental health symptoms, with 11% having seriously considered to attempt suicide.[16] The research data suggest that the pandemic has negative effects on both weight loss and food health monitoring but the effects were short lived results.[17]

Paying attention and taking measures to prevent mental health problems and post-traumatic stress syndrome, particularly in women, is already a need.[18]

Mental health

See main article: Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Childhood vaccinations

UNICEF estimates that 117 million children across 37 countries may not receive their immunizations in time to prevent a measles outbreak. Pediatricians in the United States are worried about childhood vaccination rates. In April, the CDC reported that 400,000 fewer doses of measles vaccine were ordered in 2020 compared to the same time last year.[19]

Mosquito-borne diseases

Although it is highly unlikely that COVID-19 can be transmitted by mosquitoes,[20] the pandemic nevertheless has a large impact on the control of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria or dengue fever. Reasons are disruptions in medical supply chains, patients avoiding hospitals, and halted mosquito control campaigns such as removal of breeding sites or distribution of insecticide treated bed nets.[21] [22] [23]

Maternal mortality

The United States, in particular, saw a 40 percent increase in maternal mortality in 2021, before returning to rates similar to prepandemic levels in 2022. Pregnancy-related conditions such as increased abdominal pressure and propensity for blood clots interacted negatively with SARS-CoV-2 infection, while viral damage to the placenta led to increased risk of dangerous conditions such as pre-eclampsia. Racial disparities were particularly acute, with Black women dying at 2.6 times the rate of white women and Native American and Alaska Native women dying at double the rate of white women in pregnancies from 2020 to 2021.[24]

Health insurance

See also: Health insurance coverage in the United States. Millions of Americans lost their health insurance after losing their jobs.[25] [26] [27] [28] The Independent reported that Families USA "found that the spike in uninsured Americans – adding to an estimated 84 million people who are already uninsured or underinsured – is 39 per cent higher than any previous annual increase, including the most recent surge at the height of the recession between 2008 and 2009 when nearly 4 million non-elderly Americans lost insurance."[29]

Other respiratory diseases

In late 2022, during the first Northern Hemisphere autumn and winter seasons following the widespread relaxation of global public health measures, North America and Europe experienced a surge in respiratory viruses and coinfections in both adults and children. This formed the beginnings of the 2022–2023 pediatric care crisis and what some experts have termed a "tripledemic" of seasonal influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2 throughout North America.[30] [31] In the United Kingdom, pediatric infections also began to spike beyond pre-pandemic levels, albeit with different illnesses, such as Group A streptococcal infection and scarlet fever.[32] As of mid-December 2022, 19 children in the UK had died due to Strep A and the wave of infections had begun to spread into North America and Mainland Europe.[33] [34]

Populations had been exposed to these diseases lower-than-usual rates while masks were worn and social distancing was practiced, thus exhibiting weakened immune responses.[35] Medical professionals have also posited that, since most children have had one or more SARS-CoV-2 infections by late 2022, COVID-19 may have affected children's immune systems in yet-to-be-determined ways.[36] Research demonstrates patients infected with influenza as well as Covid are over twice as likely to die as patients with only Covid. The general public has been urged to get Influenza vaccination as well as Covid vaccination.[37]

Recommendations

UNFPA recommends that governments maintain sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and services, protect health workers and limit spread of COVID-19. This includes a comprehensive approach to SRHR information and services encompassing antenatal care (ANC), care during childbirth, postnatal care (PNC), contraception, safe abortion care, prevention, testing and treatment of HIV, where relevant, as well as sexually transmitted infections (STI), detection and treatment of GBV, and sexual health services and information.[38]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Garcia S, Albaghdadi MS, Meraj PM, Schmidt C, Garberich R, Jaffer FA, Dixon S, Rade JJ, Tannenbaum M, Chambers J, Huang PP, Henry TD . 6 . Reduction in ST-Segment Elevation Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Activations in the United States During COVID-19 Pandemic . Journal of the American College of Cardiology . 75 . 22 . 2871–2872 . June 2020 . 32283124 . 7151384 . 10.1016/j.jacc.2020.04.011 .
  2. https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/23/coronavirus-phobia-keeping-heart-patients-away-from-er/ 'Where are all our patients?': Covid phobia is keeping people with serious heart symptoms away from ERs
  3. News: Faust . Jeremy Samuel . vanc . Medication Shortages Are the Next Crisis . 17 May 2020 . The Atlantic . 28 April 2020.
  4. Web site: Sexually transmitted infections surveillance reports - Reports. www.health.nsw.gov.au. 9 May 2020.
  5. Web site: U.K. Lockdown Has 'Broken HIV Chain' With Huge Reduction In New STI Cases. Wareham. Jamie. vanc . Forbes. 9 May 2020.
  6. Chow . Eric P F . Hocking . Jane S . Ong . Jason J . Phillips . Tiffany R . Fairley . Christopher K . 2021-01-01 . Sexually Transmitted Infection Diagnoses and Access to a Sexual Health Service Before and After the National Lockdown for COVID-19 in Melbourne, Australia . Open Forum Infectious Diseases . en . 8 . 1 . ofaa536 . 10.1093/ofid/ofaa536 . 2328-8957 . 7665697 . 33506064.
  7. Cowling BJ, Ali ST, Ng TW, Tsang TK, Li JC, Fong MW, Liao Q, Kwan MY, Lee SL, Chiu SS, Wu JT, Wu P, Leung GM . 6 . Impact assessment of non-pharmaceutical interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 and influenza in Hong Kong: an observational study . The Lancet. Public Health . 5 . 5 . e279–e288 . May 2020 . 32311320 . 7164922 . 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30090-6 .
  8. Web site: Australia sees huge decrease in flu cases due to coronavirus measures. Klein. Alice. vanc . New Scientist. 9 May 2020.
  9. Web site: Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report (FluView). 8 May 2020. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 9 May 2020.
  10. Alhoufie . Sari T. . Alsharif . Naif H. . Alfarouk . Khalid O. . Ibrahim . Nadier A. . Kheyami . Ali M. . Aljifri . Alanoud A. . COVID-19 with underdiagnosed influenza B and parainfluenza-2 co-infections in Saudi Arabia: Two case reports . Journal of Infection and Public Health . November 2021 . 14 . 11 . 1567–1570 . 34627054 . 10.1016/j.jiph.2021.09.005. 8442300 .
  11. Koutsakos . Marios . Wheatley . Adam K. . Laurie . Karen . Kent . Stephen J. . Rockman . Steve . Influenza lineage extinction during the COVID-19 pandemic? . Nature Reviews Microbiology . December 2021 . 19 . 12 . 741–742 . 34584246 . 10.1038/s41579-021-00642-4 . 8477979 .
  12. Web site: Questions and Answers: Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the southern hemisphere 2024 influenza season and development of candidate vaccine viruses for pandemic preparedness . . 29 September 2023 . 26 October 2023.
  13. Web site: WHO advisers recommend switch back to trivalent flu vaccines . Schnirring L . CIDRAP . 29 September 2023 . 26 October 2023.
  14. Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, Woodland L, Wessely S, Greenberg N, Rubin GJ . The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence . Lancet . 395 . 10227 . 912–920 . March 2020 . 32112714 . 7158942 . 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8 . Neil Greenberg .
  15. Surkova E, Nikolayevskyy V, Drobniewski F . False-positive COVID-19 results: hidden problems and costs . The Lancet. Respiratory Medicine . 8 . 12 . 1167–1168 . December 2020 . 33007240 . 7524437 . 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30453-7 .
  16. Czeisler MÉ, Lane RI, Petrosky E, Wiley JF, Christensen A, Njai R, Weaver MD, Robbins R, Facer-Childs ER, Barger LK, Czeisler CA, Howard ME, Rajaratnam SM . 6 . Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic - United States, June 24-30, 2020 . en-us . MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . 69 . 32 . 1049–1057 . August 2020 . 32790653 . 7440121 . 10.15585/mmwr.mm6932a1 .
  17. Bullard. Tiffany. Medcalf. Adam. Rethorst. Chad. Foster. Gary D.. 2021. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on initial weight loss in a digital weight management program: A natural experiment. Obesity. en. 29. 9. 1434–1438. 10.1002/oby.23233. 1930-739X. 8456790. 34009723.
  18. Castellanos-Torres E, Tomás Mateos J, Chilet-Rosell E . [COVID-19 from a gender perspective] . es . Gaceta Sanitaria . 34 . 5 . 419–421 . 2021-03-03 . 32423661 . 7190475 . 10.1016/j.gaceta.2020.04.007 . free .
  19. Web site: UCSF doctor warns 'measles is way more infectious than COVID,' concerned children aren't being vaccinated during pandemic . Kate . Larsen . vanc . May 13, 2020. ABC7 San Francisco.
  20. Web site: WHO Mythbusters. 2020-09-23.
  21. Book: The potential impact of health service disruptions on the burden of malaria: A modelling analysis for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. World Health Organization. 2020. 978-92-4-000464-1.
  22. Hogan AB, Jewell BL, Sherrard-Smith E, Vesga JF, Watson OJ, Whittaker C, Hamlet A, Smith JA, Winskill P, Verity R, Baguelin M, Lees JA, Whittles LK, Ainslie KE, Bhatt S, Boonyasiri A, Brazeau NF, Cattarino L, Cooper LV, Coupland H, Cuomo-Dannenburg G, Dighe A, Djaafara BA, Donnelly CA, Eaton JW, van Elsland SL, FitzJohn RG, Fu H, Gaythorpe KA, Green W, Haw DJ, Hayes S, Hinsley W, Imai N, Laydon DJ, Mangal TD, Mellan TA, Mishra S, Nedjati-Gilani G, Parag KV, Thompson HA, Unwin HJ, Vollmer MA, Walters CE, Wang H, Wang Y, Xi X, Ferguson NM, Okell LC, Churcher TS, Arinaminpathy N, Ghani AC, Walker PG, Hallett TB . 6 . Potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study . The Lancet. Global Health . 8 . 9 . e1132–e1141 . September 2020 . 32673577 . 7357988 . 10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30288-6 .
  23. Web site: WHO Director-General on the double challenge of malaria and COVID-19, 4th September. 2020-09-23.
  24. News: Caryn Rabin . Roni . Covid Worsened a Health Crisis Among Pregnant Women . 16 March 2023 . New York Times . 16 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230316052438/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/health/covid-pregnancy-death.html . 16 March 2023.
  25. News: Millions Have Lost Health Insurance in Pandemic-Driven Recession . The New York Times . July 13, 2020.
  26. News: 5.4 million Americans have lost their health insurance. What to do if you're one of them . CNBC . July 14, 2020.
  27. News: 27 million Americans could lose health insurance as Congress proposes industry 'bailout' . The Independent . 13 May 2020.
  28. News: Up to 43m Americans could lose health insurance amid pandemic, report says . The Guardian . May 20, 2020.
  29. News: Coronavirus: 5.4m Americans lost health insurance during pandemic, report says . The Independent . July 15, 2020.
  30. News: Wu . Katherine . The Worst Pediatric-Care Crisis in Decades . 1 November 2022 . The Atlantic . 31 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221031233050/https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/10/rise-of-rsv-flu-covid-infections-kids/671947/ . 31 October 2022.
  31. News: Mandavilli . Apoorva . A 'Tripledemic'? Flu, R.S.V. and Covid May Collide This Winter, Experts Say . 5 November 2022 . . 23 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221028223843/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/23/health/flu-covid-risk.html . 28 October 2022.
  32. News: Mackintosh . Thomas . Durbin . Adam . Father of girl, 4, fighting for life with Strep A infection is 'praying for a miracle' . 4 December 2022 . BBC News . 3 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203125723/https://www.bbc.com/news/health-63844880 . 3 December 2022.
  33. News: Strep A kills three more children as UK activates alternative medicines plan: At least 19 children have died and scarlet fever cases are more than treble what they were in previous high season . 17 December 2022 . The Guardian . 15 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221217040228/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/dec/15/strep-a-kills-three-more-children-as-uk-activates-new-medicines-plan . 17 December 2022.
  34. News: Wetsman . Nicole . McLean . Nicole . US children's hospitals are tracking increases in severe strep infections . 17 December 2022 . ABC News . 16 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221217100006/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/us-childrens-hospitals-tracking-increases-severe-strep-infections/story?id=95388618 . 17 December 2022.
  35. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/24/return-of-the-common-cold-infections-surge-in-uk-as-autumn-arrives Return of the common cold: infections surge in UK as autumn arrives
  36. News: Prater . Erin . Viral infections like RSV, the flu, and COVID have one Southern California county declaring a pediatric health emergency. It's far from alone . 2 November 2022 . Fortune . 1 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221102023911/https://fortune.com/well/2022/11/01/tripledemic-rsv-flu-covid-flu-like-illness-pediatric-health-emergency-orange-county-southern-california-us-united-states-canada-winter-fall-surge-schools-viral-illness-public-health/ . 2 November 2022.
  37. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58836218 Flu jab vital this winter along with Covid vaccine
  38. Book: Continuing essential Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health services during COVID-19 pandemic. World Health Organization, UNFPA, UNICEF. 2020.

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