Child deaths in England rising above pre-pandemic levels, study finds | Infant and child mortality

Child mortality in England A study found that its levels rose to new levels after a temporary decline during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study published in PLOS Medicine The magazine shows that children were less likely to die between April 2020 and March 2021, the period in which lockdowns were imposed, than at any time before or after. There were 377 fewer deaths than expected during the previous 12-month period.

However, while the number of deaths in the following year, 2021-22, was similar to before the pandemic, in 2022-23, there were 258 more deaths than expected in 2020-21, researchers at the University of Bristol found using a rule National Child Mortality Data (NCMD).

The study also found that the relative rate of death among children from non-white backgrounds, compared to white children, is now higher than it was before or during the pandemic.

The increase could be due to a range of changes including the return of widespread disease to pre-pandemic levels, the end of health-related behavioral changes such as enhanced hand washing, or the withdrawal of broader nationwide enhanced social support, which most people have benefited from. Socially vulnerable families.

“These stark results show that for most children and most causes of death, the decline in mortality seen during the pandemic was only temporary,” said Karen Lowitt, MD, director of the NCHS program and professor of neonatology at the University of Bristol. .

“National Children’s Council’s unique data also tells us that existing inequalities have widened, with outcomes worsening for children from poor and non-white backgrounds compared to their peers. But it also shows that change is possible; more must be done to change these trends in the long term, and improve the lives of children.” Children and save them.

The study confirms that deaths were higher in the years following the lockdown period. However, one category, deaths from obstetric events, showed a clear increase during and during lockdowns, but then declined to pre-pandemic levels thereafter.

Other categories, including death from drug abuse, infections, sudden unexpected death in childhood and underlying conditions, all increased after the pandemic.

There was also a rise in deaths from ‘trauma’ which the researchers said was striking, although they added that it did not exclusively include non-accidental injuries – it also included road traffic accidents and drowning.

Ethnicity data shows that in the last year, 61% of child deaths were of white children – a decline on the proportion in 2019-2020 – compared with 20% of deaths of Asian children and 9.7% of deaths of black or black British children. Both were an increase.

The researchers identified all children in England who died between April 2019 and March 2023, and calculated the annual death rate for each group of children and cause of death. Using a mathematical model, the research team tested whether the death rate rises or falls over the four years.