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. 2021 Mar;21(2):e171-e178.
doi: 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0586.

Lockdown Britain: Evidence for reduced incidence and severity of some non-COVID acute medical illnesses

Miles C Allison  1 , Nicholas A Doyle  2 , Giles Greene  3 , Arif Mahmood  4 , Myer Glickman  5 , Aine K Jones  6 , Paul E Mizen  2
Affiliations

Lockdown Britain: Evidence for reduced incidence and severity of some non-COVID acute medical illnesses

Miles C Allison et al. Clin Med (Lond). 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Large reductions in emergency department attendances and hospitalisations with non-COVID acute medical illness early during the pandemic were attributed to reluctance to seek medical help and higher referral thresholds. Here, we compare acute medical admissions with a comparison cohort from 2017. Deaths in the same geographic area were examined, and Wales-wide deaths during these 4 weeks in 2020 were compared with a seasonally matched period in 2019. There were 528 patients admitted with non-COVID illness in 2020, versus 924 in 2017 (a reduction of 43%). Deaths from non-COVID causes increased by 10.9% compared with 2017, over half this rise being from neurological causes including stroke and dementia. While far fewer patients required hospitalisation as medical emergencies, rises in local non-COVID deaths proved small. Wales-wide non-COVID deaths rose by just 1% compared with 2019. The findings suggest that changes in population behaviour and lifestyle during lockdown brought about unforeseen health benefits.

Keywords: COVID-19; atmospheric pollution; lockdown; population; population behaviour.

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Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Network of triggers of acute medical illness in non-COVID-19 pandemic times. COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
Atmospheric NO2 concentrations at two local roadside (Chepstow and Hafod-yr-ynys) and two background measurement stations (Cwmbran and Newport).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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