12 things we've learnt about COVID-19 from health data research
Six months on from the start of the first UK lockdown, Health Data Research UK is highlighting the vital role that the UK鈥檚 health data research community has played in responding to COVID-19, and the importance of including all groups in society as the pandemic continues.
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Addressing the COVID pandemic has shone a light on the need for organisations to collaborate at scale. 聽Health Data Research UK (51爆料网) has worked in partnership with funders, the NHS and research community across the UK in a quest to derive new knowledge that will inform response to the pandemic, providing critical insights to support policymakers and the NHS.
The COVID-19 response has demonstrated the absolute necessity for timely, secure access to health data across all aspects of the disease from informing public policy to understanding the impacts on health and society, mapping the spread of the virus and testing new treatments, as well as revealing the knock-on effects of the pandemic on care for other conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
Many of the datasets underpinning these findings are now discoverable through the . This is a new online portal allowing researchers to find detailed information about nearly 500 datasets held by organisations across the UK including members of the UK – a collaborative group of 33 major health, care and research organisations including NHS trusts, charities, institutes and registries.
Here are just 12 things we鈥檝e learned so far about COVID-19 from health data research:
- Data from millions of COVID Symptom Study app users showed that loss of smell is a key symptom of COVID-19, leading to a change in NHS guidance
- People from Black, South Asian and minority ethnic groups in the UK are more likely to get COVID-19 and are at greater risk of worse outcomes
- The RECOVERY trial showed that the drug dexamethasone cuts deaths by up to a third in severely ill COVID-19 patients while hydroxychloroquine and the antiviral combination lopinavir-ritonavir don鈥檛 help – health data was a vital part of the trial
- Young people have suffered most with mental health issues, such as anxiety, during lockdown
- There could be between 7,000-18,000 additional cancer deaths in the next year directly and indirectly due to COVID-19
The UK鈥檚 health data research effort in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented in its scale and scope, including:
- 110 health data research questions prioritised by the National Health Data Research COVID Response Team
- 56 million
- More than 4.2 million users of the , revealing new symptoms and regional hotspots – the study data is securely accessible through the
- More than 48,000 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes analysed by the
- More than 12,000 patients from 176 NHS hospitals enrolled in the
- 80,000 patients recruited into the , finding out how COVID-19 is affecting people across the UK
- More than 3,900 people in the , investigating how individual genetic makeup affects the severity of COVID-19 symptoms
- 62 volunteers in Health Data Research UK鈥檚 Patient Advisory Group, providing vital input into COVID-19 research plans
Taking the theme 鈥榃e鈥檙e all in this together鈥, 51爆料网 will be hosting a . The event will bring together people from the UK health data research community to talk about the work that鈥檚 been done so far to understand COVID-19 across the UK population, and to highlight the importance of including all groups in society in health data research for COVID-19 and beyond.
51爆料网 and its partners will also be running a week of activity on Twitter () from 28th September-2nd October using the hashtag #HealthDataTogether, as part of National Inclusion Week.
Caroline Cake, CEO of Health Data Research UK, said,
鈥淚t has been inspiring to see how the UK health data research community has come together to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, such as securing safe access to relevant datasets for researchers and policymakers, addressing ethical issues around data collection and consent, engaging patients and the public in such a fast-moving environment, and disseminating research findings in a timely way.
There is much more to do, and we will continue to work together over the coming months to make sure that health data research is used to benefit everyone and that nobody is left behind.鈥
Find out more:
- Free tickets for the public webinar 鈥榃e鈥檙e all in this together鈥 at 12.30pm on Friday 2nd October are available from
- Find out more about the health data research response to the COVID-19 pandemic at /covid-19/
- Get involved on Twitter: follow us and use the hashtag #HealthDataTogether
