Dr Lumbers added: "These results provide evidence of the stark indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality in England. There is a need to better understand how the pandemic response resulted in a decline in attendance to EDs with suspected cardiac disease and other serious medical conditions to inform future strategies to mitigate both the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic."
Study limitations
The research team's estimates rest upon the assumption that the COVID-19 pandemic only affects excess deaths from cardiac disease through the reduction in ED admissions, and not as a result of other factors, such as increased stress and anxiety.
Another potential limitation of this study is the possible misclassification of cardiac deaths as not related to COVID-19, since SARS-CoV-2 viral infection was excluded on clinical grounds and not through systematic viral ribonucleic acid testing.
Research paper: Michail Katsoulis, Manuel Gomes, Alvina G Lai, Albert Henry, Spiros Denaxas, Pagona Lagiou, Vahe Nafilyan, Ben Humberstone, Amitava Banerjee, Harry Hemingway, R Thomas Lumbers: 'Estimating the effect of reduced attendance at emergency departments for suspected acute cardiovascular disease on cardiovascular mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic', will be published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes at 00:01 (UK Time) on Monday 21st December 2020/ 19:01 (Eastern Time).
About UCL - London's Global University
UCL is a diverse community with the freedom to challenge and think differently.
Our community of more than 41,500 students from 150 countries and over 12,500 staff pursues academic excellence, breaks boundaries and makes a positive impact on real world problems.
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We have a progressive and integrated approach to our teaching and research - championing innovation, creativity and cross-disciplinary working. We teach our students how to think, not what to think, and see them as partners, collaborators and contributors.
For almost 200 years, we are proud to have opened higher education to students from a wide range of backgrounds and to change the way we create and share knowledge.
We were the first in England to welcome women to university education and that courageous attitude and disruptive spirit is still alive today.
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