17.02.2021 change 17.02.2021

More men in Poland die from COVID-19 than women, says new report

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More men die of COVID-19 than women, a new report has found.

The study from the National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene (NIPH-PZH) also found that more men are hospitalised because of the virus. 

The discovery was made after researchers looked at 138 hospitals in Poland from March to the end of September last year. 

The report titled ‘The health situation of the Polish population and its determinants 2020' edited by Bogdan Wojtyniak and Paweł Goryński, found that among the people hospitalised, 51 percent were men compared to 49 percent of women.

The average age of the women was nearly 60 years, and in the case of men nearly 56 years. Women stayed in hospital due to COVID-19 slightly longer (12.3 days) than men (11.8 days), and city dwellers stayed in hospitals shorter (12 days) than residents of rural areas (14 days).

Patients from rural areas were admitted to hospitals less frequently due to SARS-CoV-2 infection (16.5 percent).

During hospital treatment, 13 percent of hospitalised COVID-19 patients died, with rural residents dying more often than city residents (17 percent and 12 percent, respectively). The percentage of men dying was higher than that of women (14 percent and 12 perfent, respectively).

The report said: “The hospitalisation rate in Poland in September 2020 was similar to the rate in France or Spain, while the incidence recorded in these countries is 7 and 13 times higher, respectively."

The report added that “the discrepancy between the low recorded incidence and the high hospitalisation rate indicates a worse diagnosis of cases with milder or less typical clinical course.

“Therefore, the low numbers of tested persons in Poland cannot be interpreted in terms of better targeted testing. The data indicate that it is rather a weakness of our diagnostic system and may have a direct impact on our country's ability to counter the epidemic in the coming months.”

They also draw attention to the spatial differentiation of the epidemic in Poland. In the initial period, when the infections were brought from abroad, the dispersion of counties with a slightly higher incidence was visible. They also note that “most of these infections did not result in outbreaks in March and April.”

However, there was transmission of the virus in localities and there were outbreaks, for example in medical facilities and nursing homes. In May and June, following the introduction of restrictions, there was a strong concentration of cases in several areas where outbreaks were detected in workplaces.

The authors of the report add that the incidence remained at a very low level practically in all of northern Poland and “it only changed during the summer holidays.”

They also emphasise that the intensity of virus transmission still varies between counties, which justifies taking local action. (PAP)

Author: Klaudia Torchała

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