Narrowing gap in regional and age-specific excess mortality in the first year and a half of COVID-19 in Hungary

Abstract

In the first year and a half of the pandemic, the excess mortality in Hungary was 28,400, which was 1,700 lower than the official statistics on COVID-19 deaths. This discrepancy can be partly explained by protective measures instated during the COVID-19 pandemic that decreased the intensity of the seasonal flu outbreak, which caused on average 3,000 deaths per year. Compared to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the third wave showed a reduction in the differences in excess mortality between age groups and regions. The excess mortality rate for people aged 75+ fell significantly in the third wave, partly due to the vaccination schedule and the absence of a normal flu season. For people aged 40-77, the excess mortality rate rose slightly in the third wave. Between regions, excess mortality was highest in Northern Hungary and Western Transdanubia, and much lower in Central Hungary, where the capital is located. The excess mortality rate for men was almost twice as high as that for women in almost all age groups.

The Role of Sports in the Subjective Psychological Well-Being of Hungarian Adult Population in Three Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This study is focused on Hungary, which was also significantly impacted by the pandemic. Over the three waves of the pandemic (from 11 March 2020 to 15 June 2021), more than 807,000 people were infected with the COVID-19 virus, which claimed around 30,000 thousand lives [18,20]. This contributed to a 15% increase in the number of deaths in Hungary compared to the estimated number of deaths without the pandemic [20,21].…”

“…Over the three waves of the pandemic (from 11 March 2020 to 15 June 2021), more than 807,000 people were infected with the COVID-19 virus, which claimed around 30,000 thousand lives [18,20]. This contributed to a 15% increase in the number of deaths in Hungary compared to the estimated number of deaths without the pandemic [20,21]. It is particularly unfavorable that, as long as the number of infected people per 100,000 persons was close to the OECD countries' average (8444.3), the number of deceased per 1,000,000 persons was the highest among developed countries (3074.4) between 2020 and October 2021 [22].…”