Regional variations in Italy’s COVID-19 death toll: a descriptive analysis of excess mortality and associated factors from 2020 to 2021
Due to differential misreporting, EM estimates offer a more accurate view of regional and temporal patterns in COVID-19 mortality than official rates. The higher EM in northern Italy during the first year of the pandemic might be linked to lesser adherence to control policies, possibly associated with higher private-sector employment. The higher EM in the South and Islands post-March 2021, contributing to 40.7% of avertable EM, could be partly explained by the lower vaccination rates in the population aged 80 and older, who experienced the highest age-specific mortality rates and lower trust in the healthcare system in this macro-region.
Authors
- Giovanni de Girolamo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1611-8324)
- Jacopo Lenzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2882-4223)
- Angelo Capodici (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7505-0702)
- Michael A. Stoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8293-471X)
- Francesco Sanmarchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8288-0563)
- Davide Golinelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7331-9520)
- Federico Toth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1596-6460)
- Manuel Zamparini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4202-6298)
Institutions
- Georgetown University (US)
- Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli (IT)
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IT)
- University of Bologna (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Population Health Metrics
- Published
- 2025-03-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-025-00370-4
- Primary Topic
- COVID-19 and healthcare impacts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00