AUTHOR=Cohen Jérémie F. , Korevaar Daniël A. , Matczak Soraya , Chalumeau Martin , Allali Slimane , Toubiana Julie 

TITLE=COVID-19–Related Fatalities and Intensive-Care-Unit Admissions by Age Groups in Europe: A Meta-Analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.560685

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2020.560685

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> Precise international estimates of the age breakdown of COVID-19–related deaths and intensive-care-unit (ICU) admissions are lacking. We evaluated the distribution of COVID-19–related fatalities and ICU admissions by age groups in Europe.</p><p><bold>Materials and methods:</bold> On April 6, 2020, we systematically reviewed official COVID-19–related data from 32 European countries. We included countries that provided data regarding more than 10 COVID-19–related deaths stratified by age according to pre-specified age groups (i.e., &lt;40, 40–69, ≥70 years). We used random-effects meta-analysis to summarize the data.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Thirteen European countries were included in the review, for a total of 31,864 COVID-19–related deaths (range: 27–14,381 per country). In the main meta-analysis (including data from Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland; 21,522 COVID-19–related fatalities), the summary proportions of individuals &lt;40, 40–69, and ≥70 years old among all COVID-19–related deaths were 0.1% (0.0–0.2; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> 28.6%), 13.0% (10.8–15.4; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> 91.5%), and 86.6% (84.2–88.9; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> 91.5%), respectively. ICU data were available for four countries (France, Greece, Spain, Sweden). The summary proportions of individuals around &lt;40–50, around 40–69, and around ≥60–70 years old among all COVID-19–related ICU admissions were 5.4% (3.4–7.8; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> 89.0%), 52.6% (41.8–63.3; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> 98.1%), and 41.8% (32.0–51.9; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> 99%), respectively.</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> People under 40 years old represent a small fraction of most severe COVID-19 cases in Europe. These results may help health authorities respond to public concerns and guide future physical distancing and mitigation strategies. Specific measures to protect older people should be considered.</p>