Espinola Natalia, Loudet Cecilia I, Luxardo Rosario, Moreno Carolina, Kyaw Moe H, Spinardi Julia, Mendoza Carlos Fernando, Carballo Carolina M, Dantas Ana Carolina, Abalos Maria Gabriela, Ballivian Jamile, Navarro Emiliano, Bardach Ariel
Department of Health Technology Assessment and Health Economics, Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS), Buenos Aires City C1414, Argentina.
Vaccine, Medical, Pfizer Inc., New York, NY 10001, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Apr 24;22(5):669. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22050669.
The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a substantial burden on healthcare systems worldwide, yet reliable data on COVID-19 morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs in Latin America remain limited. This study explored the disease and economic burden of COVID-19 in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru during the pre-vaccination period. Using national databases and a systematic review of the literature, we analyzed data on adults aged 18 and older, reporting cases, death rates, years of life lost, excess mortality, and direct medical costs. Before vaccination programs began, the average COVID-19 incidence rate was 6741 per 100,000 adults. Of these, 91% were mild cases, 7% moderate/severe, and 2% critical. Among 2,201,816 hospitalizations, 27.8% required intensive care, and 17.5% required mechanical ventilation. Excess mortality ranged from 76 to 557 per 100,000, and years of life lost spanned 241,089 to 3,312,346. Direct medical costs ranged from USD 258 million to USD 10,437 million, representing 2-5% of national health expenditures. The findings highlight significant variability across countries and provide crucial insights to help policymakers to make informed decisions and allocate resources effectively to improve national strategies around surveillance, preventive and treatment strategies to control the spread of COVID-19 disease in the future.
新冠疫情给全球医疗系统带来了沉重负担，但拉丁美洲关于新冠发病率、死亡率及医疗成本的可靠数据仍然有限。本研究探讨了阿根廷、巴西、智利、哥伦比亚、墨西哥和秘鲁在疫苗接种前阶段新冠疫情造成的疾病负担和经济负担。我们利用国家数据库并对文献进行系统综述，分析了18岁及以上成年人的数据，报告了病例数、死亡率、生命年损失、超额死亡率及直接医疗成本。在疫苗接种计划开始前，每10万名成年人中新冠的平均发病率为6741例。其中，91%为轻症病例，7%为中/重症病例，2%为危重症病例。在2201816例住院病例中，27.8%需要重症监护，17.5%需要机械通气。超额死亡率为每10万人76至557例，生命年损失为241089至3312346年。直接医疗成本从2.58亿美元到104.37亿美元不等，占国家卫生支出的2%至5%。研究结果凸显了各国之间的显著差异，并提供了关键见解，以帮助政策制定者做出明智决策，有效分配资源，从而完善未来围绕监测、预防和治疗策略的国家战略，以控制新冠疫情的传播。
