Original scientific paper
SOME EPIDEMIOLOGICAL INDICATORS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA DURING 2020
DARKO ROPAC
orcid.org/0000-0002-9805-3869
; Catholic University of Croatia, Department of Nursing, Zagreb, Croatia
INA STAŠEVIĆ
orcid.org/0000-0002-6912-2191
; University of Applied Sciences, Study of Nursing, Bjelovar, Croatia
GORANKA RAFAJ
orcid.org/0000-0001-9878-3901
; University of Applied Sciences, Study of Nursing, Bjelovar, Croatia
Abstract
Introduction: At the beginning of 2020, a new virus called SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, began to spread
in Croatia. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic affected the
increase in mortality in the Croatian population during 2020, and whether it had an impact on life expectancy and how much.
Methods: In the study, offi cial data from state bodies, World Health Organization and EUROSTAT were used. In addition to
morbidity and lethality, the excess mortality in 2020 associated with the pandemic and the loss in years of life expectancy
were calculated. Results: During 2020, a total of 1,078,240 people (26.6% of the population) were tested, and 19.7% were
positive. A total of 212,084 people were infected, while 3,919 deaths were registered. From the beginning of the pandemic
until the end of the year, 4,550 more people died compared with the average fi gure recorded in the previous fi ve-year period,
yielding a 26.7% increase in the number of registered deaths. The lethality was 2.15% and mortality 11/10,000 inhabitants.
Hospital lethality was as high as 19%. COVID-19 reduced life expectancy by six years on average, and a total of 27,300 years
of life were lost. Conclusion: In 2020, 4,550 more people died compared with the previous average fi gure, yielding a 26.7%
increase due to the pandemic-related deaths. Lethality among the infected was 1.85%-2.15%, but among those treated at
hospital it was 19%. The mortality rate was about 10-11/10,000 inhabitants. A total of 27,300 years of life were lost.
Keywords
COVID-19; lethality; mortality; surplus deaths; lost years of life expectancy (YLL); Croatia
Hrčak ID:
256707
URI
Publication date:
28.4.2021.
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