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. 2023 Jun;35(6):1385-1392.
doi: 10.1007/s40520-023-02426-7. Epub 2023 May 12.

Causes of deaths in long-term care and hospice care facilities during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic: a snapshot of Italy during 2020

Maria Beatrice Zazzara #  1 , Giuseppe Ferdinando Colloca #  2 , Alice Maraschini  3 , Andrea Bellieni  2 , Sabrina Dispenza  2 , Eleonora Meloni  2 , Maria Adelaide Ricciotti  2 , Italo Penco  4 , Giada Minelli #  3 , Graziano Onder #  2   5
Affiliations

Causes of deaths in long-term care and hospice care facilities during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic: a snapshot of Italy during 2020

Maria Beatrice Zazzara et al. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Older adults living in long-term care facilities (LTCF) have been severely affected by COVID-19. Hospice care (HC) facilities and palliative care are essential in treating patients dying from COVID-19. In Italy, little is known about the impact of COVID-19 on deaths in LTCF and the care provided in HC to COVID-19 patients.

Aim: To assess overall and case-specific mortality in 2020 in LTC and HC facilities in comparison to the previous five years (2015-2019).

Methods: We performed a descriptive study using data derived from the Italian national "Cause of Death" registry-managed by the Italian National Institute of Statistics-on deaths occurred in LTC and HC facilities during 2020 and the period 2015-2019.

Results: Number of deaths significantly increased in 2020 compared with 2015-2019 in LTCF (83,062 deaths vs. 59,200) and slightly decreased in hospices (38,788 vs. 39,652). COVID-19 caused 12.5% of deaths in LTCF and only 2% in hospices. Other than COVID-19, in 2020, cancer accounted for 77% of all deaths that occurred in HC, while cardiovascular diseases (35.6%) and psychotic and behavioral disorders (10%) were the most common causes of death in LTCF. Overall, 22% of the excess mortality registered in Italy during 2020 is represented by the deaths that occurred in LTCF.

Discussion and conclusion: LTCF were disproportionally affected by COVID-19, while the response to the pandemic in HC was limited. These data can help plan strategies to limit the impact of future epidemics and to better understand residential care response to COVID-19 epidemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Geriatrics; Hospice care; Long-term care; Nursing homes; Palliative care.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors has any conflict of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mean number of deaths occurred in 2015–2019 and 2020 in Long-term care facilities. The black part of the columns represents deaths due to COVID-19
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean number of deaths occurred in 2015–2019 and 2020 in Hospice care facilities. The black part of the columns represents deaths due to COVID-19
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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