Examination of Gender Difference in Heart Disease-Related Excess Deaths during COVID-19 Pandemic Era: Findings from the United States.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States, and women are experiencing more strokes at younger ages than men. Despite accumulating evidence of increased burden of heart disease among women, there is little data on gender difference in heart disease-related mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD

This study extracted the data of weekly number of deaths between January 2017 and December 2020 from the United States Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) mortality and morbidity data, modified to a monthly scale. Stratified by gender, the study applied the Farrington method on monthly data to calculate excess number of deaths. Excess heart disease-related deaths were observed in March and July 2020 for both males and females.

RESULTS

While the overall number of heart disease-related deaths was higher in men than women among US population 75 years old, a greater rate increase of heart disease-related deaths in 2020 from 2019 was observed among women than men. This increased burden was more pronounced among young women 25 years old. A similar pattern of excess deaths caused by underlying heart disease condition was observed for both genders during COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, increase in heart disease-related death burden in 2020 from 2019 was greater amongst females than males. This may be partially accounted for by deferred cardiovascular care and prevention amongst women during the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

While no gender difference was observed in excess deaths caused by underlying heart disease condition, females faced a greater increase in heart disease-related death burden during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic than males.