The estimated disease burden of acute COVID-19 in the Netherlands in 2020, in disability-adjusted life-years
McDonald, Scott A; Lagerweij, Giske R; de Boer, Pieter; de Melker, Hester E; Pijnacker, Roan; Mughini Gras, Lapo; Kretzschmar, Mirjam E; den Hartog, Gerco; van Gageldonk-Lafeber, Arianne B; van den F, Susan; Wallinga, Jacco; RIVM COVID-19 surveillance, epidemiology team
(2022) European Journal of Epidemiology, volume 37, issue 10, pp. 1035 - 1047
(Article)
Abstract
The impact of COVID-19 on population health is recognised as being substantial, yet few studies have attempted to quantify to what extent infection causes mild or moderate symptoms only, requires hospital and/or ICU admission, results in prolonged and chronic illness, or leads to premature death. We aimed to quantify the
... read more
total disease burden of acute COVID-19 in the Netherlands in 2020 using the disability-adjusted life-years (DALY) measure, and to investigate how burden varies between age-groups and occupations. Using standard methods and diverse data sources (mandatory notifications, population-level seroprevalence, hospital and ICU admissions, registered COVID-19 deaths, and the literature), we estimated years of life lost (YLL), years lived with disability, DALY and DALY per 100,000 population due to COVID-19, excluding post-acute sequelae, stratified by 5-year age-group and occupation category. The total disease burden due to acute COVID-19 was 286,100 (95% CI: 281,700-290,500) DALY, and the per-capita burden was 1640 (95% CI: 1620-1670) DALY/100,000, of which 99.4% consisted of YLL. The per-capita burden increased steeply with age, starting from 60 to 64 years, with relatively little burden estimated for persons under 50 years old. SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated premature mortality was responsible for a considerable direct health burden in the Netherlands, despite extensive public health measures. DALY were much higher than for other high-burden infectious diseases, but lower than estimated for coronary heart disease. These findings are valuable for informing public health decision-makers regarding the expected COVID-19 health burden among population subgroups, and the possible gains from targeted preventative interventions.
show less
Download/Full Text
Keywords: COVID-19, Cost of Illness, Disability-Adjusted Life Years, Disability-adjusted life-years, Disabled Persons, Disease burden, Humans, Middle Aged, Netherlands, Netherlands/epidemiology, Pandemic, Quality-Adjusted Life Years, SARS-CoV-2, Seroepidemiologic Studies, Journal Article
ISSN: 0393-2990
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Note: Publisher Copyright: © 2022. The Author(s).
(Peer reviewed)