COVID-19 Pandemic Has Significant Impact on Global Mortality and Medical Use...Less outpatients but higher health care costs

Aug 26, 2025

COVID-19 Pandemic Has Significant Impact on Global Mortality and Medical Use...Less outpatients but higher health care costs
data photo source=Pixabay



A research team led by Professor Seo Hye-sun of Kyung Hee University's College of Pharmacy (Dr. Choi Kyung-sun of Kyunghee University's Department of Regulatory Science, Jang Min-seol, Professor Park Sang-joon of Seoul National University of Medicine, and Professor Kim Si-in of Kyungsung University's College of Pharmacy) has comprehensively identified the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global mortality, medical use, and disease burden for the first time in the world. The findings were published in the latest issue of the global medical journal 'Eclinical Medicine' (IF: 10.0, top 3.2%). In recognition of the excellence of the research results, the researchers were also listed as the `People Who Shined Korea.'

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about drastic changes in health conditions and the way healthcare systems are used worldwide. Until now, most studies have been conducted on specific diseases and single countries, with limited results. Professor Hye-sun Seo's research team analyzed the long-term and overall effects of the pandemic using large-scale medical big data from 31 countries, including Europe, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, and South Korea, from various angles.

Professor Seo Hye-sun's research team analyzed using data on the population of more than 1 billion people. The research team applied the interrupted time-series technique to track changes in mortality, medical resource use, and disease burden by disease before and after the pandemic. Research conducted based on a total of more than 1 billion data is unprecedented globally in terms of its scale and scope among COVID-19 pandemic studies.




According to the results analyzed by the research team, there was a significant increase in the mortality and medical burden of various diseases such as decreased access to medical care and infectious diseases, circulatory diseases, digestive diseases, and respiratory diseases during the pandemic. In particular, in the case of ischemic heart disease among circulatory diseases, the trend of increasing mortality continued even after the pandemic. Hypertension and liver disease-related mortality also rose sharply immediately after the pandemic.

Immediately after the pandemic, the use of medical aid shrank overall, with outpatient care and hospitalization days generally decreasing. Since then, treatment related to cancer and mental illness has recovered. As a result of detailed disease analysis, the use of medical support decreased in the case of chronic bowel disease, but outpatient use related to thyroid, liver disease, sleep disorders, and mood disorders increased.

Professor Hye-sun Seo expressed the significance of the study, saying, "This study is the first to comprehensively investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various diseases and medical use worldwide through comparisons between countries." Then "It could be an important scientific basis for setting policies to respond to public health crises in the future. The framework of this study is not only a next-generation pandemic response strategy, but also a meaning of basic data for strengthening the global health care system.'




This study was conducted with the support of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's regulatory science research project.



COVID-19 Pandemic Has Significant Impact on Global Mortality and Medical Use...Less outpatients but higher health care costs
(from left) Co-first author of the study, Dr. Choi Kyung-sun of Kyung Hee University's Department of Regulatory Science, co-first author Jang Min-seol, co-corresponding author, Professor Park Sang-joon of Seoul National University School of Medicine, and Professor Seo Hye-sun of Kyung Hee University College of Pharmacy.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.