Child deaths in England have increased after a temporary decline during the Covid-19 pandemic, a study has found.
Study, published in PLoS Medicine The journal found that children were less likely to die between April 2020 and March 2021, the period when the lockdown was in effect, than at any time before or after. There were 377 fewer deaths than in the previous 12-month period.
However, while the number of deaths in the following year, 2021-22, was the same as before the pandemic, in 2022-23 there were 258 more deaths than expected in the 2020-21 period, researchers at the University of Bristol used Found out. National Child Morality Database (NCMD).
The study also found that non-white children had a higher death rate than white children before or during the pandemic.
This increase could be due to many changes, including a return of circulating diseases to pre-epidemic levels, the implementation of health-enhancing behavioral changes such as increased hand washing, or broader, state-based improved social support. Withdrawal from, which benefited the most. socially vulnerable families.
Karen Luitt, NCMD’s program director and professor of neonatal medicine at the University of Bristol, said: “These clear findings show that, for most children and most causes of death, the mortality seen during the pandemic is The decline was only temporary.
“NCMD’s unique data also tells us that existing inequalities have widened, with poor and non-white children performing worse than their peers. But it also shows that Change is possible. More must be done to reverse these trends and improve and save children’s lives in the long term.
The study confirms that deaths were higher in the years following the lockdown period. However, one category, deaths from birth events, saw a marked increase during and after the lockdown, but then declined to pre-pandemic levels.
Other categories, including deaths from substance abuse, infections, sudden unexpected death in childhood and underlying conditions, all increased after the pandemic.
There was also an increase in deaths due to “trauma” which the researchers said was surprising, although they added that this does not exclusively cover non-accidental injury – including road traffic accidents and drownings. Events are also included.
After newsletter promotion
Ethnicity data shows that in recent years, 61% of child deaths were for white children – a decrease from the share in 2019-20 – compared to 20% of Asian child deaths and 9.7% for black or black British child deaths, both of which were increases.
The researchers identified all children in England who died between April 2019 and March 2023, and calculated the annual mortality rate and cause of death for each group of children. Using a mathematical model, the research team then tested whether death rates were going up or down over the four years.
