Article Text
Abstract
Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been widely implemented to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We assessed the effect of NPIs on hospitalisations for pneumonia, influenza, COPD and asthma. This retrospective, ecological study compared the weekly incidence of hospitalisation for four respiratory conditions before (January 2016–January 2020) and during (February–July 2020) the implementation of NPI against COVID-19. Hospitalisations for all four respiratory conditions decreased substantially during the intervention period. The cumulative incidence of admissions for COPD and asthma was 58% and 48% of the mean incidence during the 4 preceding years, respectively.
- COVID-19
- respiratory infection
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Footnotes
KH, Y-EK and WJ contributed equally.
Contributors KH, WJ and JJ had full access to the study data and take responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the analysis. Concept and design: KH, JJ. Acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data: KH, WJ, Y-EK, E-JL, DWK. Drafting of the manuscript: KH, JJ, WJ. Critical review of the manuscript: J-HK, J-MK. Statistical analysis: KH, JJ, Y-EK.
Funding This study was supported by grants from the Gachon University Gil Medical Center (grant numbers 2018-17 and 2019-11). The sponsor of the study was not involved in study design, analysis and interpretation of data; writing of the report; or the decision to submit the study results for publication.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Ethics approval The research was conducted ethically in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the appropriate institutional review board of the Gachon University College of Medicine, Incheon, Republic of Korea (GFIRB2020-384).
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Linked Articles
- Editorial
- Asthma
- Asthma