{"id":5002,"date":"2025-07-07T10:56:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T10:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=5002"},"modified":"2025-07-07T10:56:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T10:56:56","slug":"covid-19-pandemic-led-to-sharp-rise-in-mental-health-disorders-malaria-and-heart-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=5002","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Pandemic Led to Sharp Rise in Mental Health Disorders, Malaria, and Heart Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to healthcare services, leading to sharp increases in non-COVID illnesses and deaths, particularly mental health disorders in children, malaria in young kids, and heart disease in older adults, according to a study published in&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj-2024-083868\"><em>The BMJ<\/em>.<\/a> Researchers analyzed global data to highlight the pandemic&#8217;s indirect toll on health systems worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study, conducted by researchers in China, used data from the\u00a0<em>Global Burden of Disease Study 2021<\/em>\u00a0to assess the impact of the pandemic on 174 health conditions across 204 countries. Key findings revealed a 23% rise in depressive disorders among children aged 5-14 and a 14% increase in malaria deaths among children under five between 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for malaria rose by 12%, while depressive and anxiety disorders saw increases of 12% and 14%, respectively. Heart disease and stroke prevalence also spiked, particularly among adults aged 70 and older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers noted limitations, such as uneven data quality and potential underreporting, but emphasized the need for stronger health system resilience. They called for integrated surveillance and equitable preparedness strategies to mitigate future crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Future responses to pandemics must extend beyond infection control to address long-term, syndemic health impacts,&#8221;<\/em>\u00a0the researchers stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study underscores the urgency of prioritizing universal health coverage and reinforcing primary care to combat the indirect effects of health emergencies. By integrating these insights into recovery plans, countries can build fairer and more resilient health systems for future challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to healthcare services, leading to sharp increases in non-COVID illnesses and deaths, particularly mental health disorders in children, malaria in young kids, and heart disease in older adults, according to a study published in&nbsp;The BMJ. Researchers analyzed global data to highlight the pandemic&#8217;s indirect toll on health systems worldwide. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1123],"tags":[542,726,1566,2110,2384,2383,1091],"class_list":["post-5002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-health","tag-covid-19","tag-health","tag-health-medicine","tag-heart-disease","tag-malaria","tag-mental-health-disorders","tag-public-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5004,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5002\/revisions\/5004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}