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Autopsy-based all-cause unnatural mortality during pre-pandemic and pandemic of COVID-19 in Varanasi, India: a retrospective analysis

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant disruptions in healthcare systems worldwide, with Varanasi, India, experiencing profound challenges in managing mortality rates. In order to inform public health initiatives, it is important to comprehend how the pandemic has affected all-cause unnatural death in comparison to pre-pandemic patterns. This retrospective study intended to investigate patterns of all-cause unnatural mortality employing autopsy records of cases from Varanasi's Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University during the pre-pandemic and pandemic period (First and Second wave) of COVID-19. The analysis included 2694 cases of unnatural mortality, such as road traffic accident (RTA), poisoning, hanging and other causes. Demographic, clinical, and circumstantial data were collected and compared between the two time periods, that revealed significant as well as non-significant shifts in all-cause unnatural mortality rates. Whilst certain types of unnatural deaths, such as RTAs, witnessed a non-significant 2.03% (p = 0.34722) decrease, others like hanging exhibited an unexpected significant 3.17% (p = 0.01732) rise, burning and poisoning witnessed a significant 4.18% (p = 0.00026) and 2.37% (p = 0.0271) decline respectively. RTA was the leading cause of mortality both during and before pandemic. Male deaths (79.18%) outweighed female deaths (20.82%) by a more substantial amount throughout research periods. Additionally, variations in demographic characteristics, circumstances surrounding deaths, and healthcare utilization were observed during the pandemic period. The majority of unnatural fatalities occur in the age group of 21–30 years old in both pre-pandemic (22.62%) and pandemic conditions (26.65%). This study provides important insights into the secondary effects of the pandemic on unnatural mortality and emphasizes the need for individualized public health. Furthermore, research is warranted to explore the long-term implications and address the associated challenges for healthcare systems and public health initiatives.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely appreciate the support and contribution of Dr. (Prof.) Girish Singh, BHU for the statistical analysis of data and revision of the manuscript for accuracy. We also thank to Dr. Ramkrishna Mishra, Senior Scientific Officer, FSL, Jharkhand, for inculcating the ideas regarding this study.

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The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Author notes

  1. Jyotsana Singh and Ambrish Kumar are contribute equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P., 221005, India

    Jyotsana Singh & Surendra Kumar Pandey

  2. Department of Chemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P., 221005, India

    Ambrish Kumar

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  1. Jyotsana Singh
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  2. Ambrish Kumar
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Contributions

Jyotsana Singh and Ambrish Kumar contributed to study concept and design, data collection and analysis, all aspects of manuscript drafting and revisions including figures, and tables. Surendra Kumar Pandey contributed to the study concept and design, supervision, interpreting the results, and critical revisions of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Surendra Kumar Pandey.

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Singh, J., Kumar, A. & Pandey, S.K. Autopsy-based all-cause unnatural mortality during pre-pandemic and pandemic of COVID-19 in Varanasi, India: a retrospective analysis. Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-024-00825-4

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