- Covid-19 and seasonal influenza are two respiratory viruses that place a huge burden on health systems.
- Covid-19 has had a significant impact on health since the outbreak began. Wave after wave of infections, dose after dose of vaccines, are less effective.
- Is the impact of today’s Covid-19 virus on health systems and health similar to that of influenza? Research published in The Lancet attempts to answer this question.
- They analyzed more than 81,000 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 (2020 to 2022) and nearly 11,000 patients hospitalized with seasonal influenza (2015 to 2019) based on the Veterans Affairs Health System database. They followed them for a year and a half.
- Patients hospitalized with Covid-19 had a 51% higher risk of death and almost 70% of 94 adverse outcomes at different organ levels (compared to 6.4% for influenza).
- Of the 94 adverse outcomes considered, seasonal influenza only outperformed Covid-19 in rates of anxiety, tachycardia, cough, hypoxemia and dyspnea.
- Covid-19, in turn, is associated with higher rates of readmissions, intensive care use and post-acute symptoms.
- This study shows that despite significant improvements in immunity and the presence of “more benign” variants such as Ómicron, Covid-19 remains a disease that places a burden on health systems and people. Seasonal influenza.
Influenza and SARS-CoV-2: a classic comparison
Both respiratory viruses are associated with an increased risk of death, and They negatively impact different organ systems as well as overall health. Both viruses can overload health systems from time to time.
Initially, Covid-19 was considered “Another flu” disappears as the first wave of infections arrives. Wave after wave of infections, and vaccine after vaccine, the impact of Covid-19 is “waning”, at least among a large proportion of the population.
A previous comparative analysis of patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 and influenza assessed the risk of death and readmission within 6 months of infection, as well as a range of health outcomes.
So far, the long-term effects have not been assessed.
Flu vs Covid-19: Which is more serious today?
A team of researchers from Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Located in St. Louis, USA, The acute and long-term risks and impacts of hospital admission for Covid-19 or seasonal influenza were assessed across a range of comprehensive health outcomes.
For this cohort study, they used the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare database.
They analyzed data from 81,280 participants admitted to hospital with Covid-19 between March 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022 (the last part has been circulated with Ómicron), Between October 1, 2015, and February 28, 2019, 10,985 participants were hospitalized with seasonal influenza (they will need more time to collect sufficient numbers).
They followed the participants for 18 months to compare the two diseases.
Results: What did they find in this study?
During the 18-month follow-up period, compared with seasonal influenza, the results were as follows:
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The risk of death from Covid-19 is higher, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.51 (i.e. 51% higher).
The Covid-19 group had a higher mortality rate of 8.62 per 100 people compared to the influenza group.
Various pre-specified health outcomes (94 in total)
After comparing 94 prespecified health outcomes, they found:
- The risk of any of the negative outcomes listed above is 68.1% higher with Covid-19 than with seasonal flu (in fact, the risk of 64 of these negative outcomes is higher).
- Seasonal influenza was associated with a 6.4% increased risk of any of these negative outcomes, including 3 of 4 pulmonary outcomes (6 of these 94 negative outcomes were more common with Covid-19)
organ system
Analysis of organ systems showed an increased risk of Covid-19 affecting all organ systems except the pulmonary system, with a higher risk from seasonal influenza.
The cumulative rates of adverse health outcomes across all organ systems were 615.18 cases per 100 people in Covid-19 and 536.90 cases per 100 people in seasonal influenza, equivalent to an excess rate of 78.72 cases per 100 people in Covid-19. 19.
Disability Adjusted Life Years
The total number of DALYs across all organ systems was 287.43 per 100 people in the Covid-19 group and 242.66 per 100 people in the seasonal influenza group.
This is equivalent to an increase of 45.03 DALYs per 100 people in the Covid-19 group.
DALY: What are they?
The concept of DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Year) refers to the number of years of life lost and disabled due to the presence of disease in a population.
In Spanish we talk about DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years).
post-acute symptoms
The analysis shows that the burden of health losses from Covid-19 and seasonal influenza is greater after the acute phase than during the acute phase.
In contrast, except for the pulmonary system, Covid-19 imposes a greater burden of health losses on all other organ systems during the acute and post-acute phases than seasonal influenza.
Readmissions and intensive care unit admissions
Covid-19 also carries a higher risk of readmission to hospital (excess rate of 20.50 per 100 people) and admission to intensive care (excess rate of 9.23 per 100 people) compared with seasonal flu.
These results are consistent with analyzes comparing seasonal influenza and Covid-19 risks based on individuals’ respective vaccination status, as well as analyzes of hospital admissions in the pre-Delta, Delta and Omicron eras.
Conclusion: What does this study leave us with?
Not only are mortality and adverse health outcomes higher after hospital admission for seasonal influenza or Covid-19, but this comparative analysis shows that admission to hospital for Covid-19 is associated with an increased risk of long-term death and outcomes with adverse health effects in nearly all organs systems (except the pulmonary system).
Additionally, Covid-19 is associated with significantly higher cumulative overdoses DALYs, readmissions, and intensive care utilization rates were higher compared with seasonal influenza.
Both viruses can take a huge toll on health. This will require efforts to prevent hospitalizations from these viruses and improve care for people who suffer long-term health effects from seasonal influenza or SARS-CoV-2 infection.
refer to
(1). https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(23)00684-9/fulltext#%20
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