COVID-19 Epidemiology and Therapeutic Strategies
Summary
Since its emergence in late 2019, COVID-19 has exhibited a rapid global spread characterised by waves driven by novel variants and uneven vaccine uptake. Epidemiological studies have delineated key risk factors including age, obesity, comorbidities and socioeconomic determinants, informing stratified public‐health interventions such as targeted vaccination campaigns and non‐pharmaceutical measures. At the population level, incidence and mortality trends have been shaped by viral evolution, mobility patterns and health‐care capacity. In parallel, therapeutic strategies have evolved from broad supportive care towards directed antiviral agents, immunomodulators and monoclonal antibodies. Drug repurposing efforts and novel small‐molecule inhibitors now complement established supportive measures, while insights into host‐pathogen interactions have spurred development of next‐generation vaccines and adjunctive therapies aimed at mitigating hyperinflammation and thrombo‐inflammatory complications. The integration of epidemiological surveillance with therapeutic innovation underpins ongoing efforts to control both acute disease and long-term sequelae.
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COVID-19 Epidemiology and Therapeutic Strategies publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in covid-19 epidemiology and therapeutic strategies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Epidemiology: The study of incidence, distribution and determinants of disease in defined populations.
Adiposity: The condition of being overweight or obese, often quantified by body‐mass index or fat distribution measures.
Knowledge graph: A networked representation of entities and their relationships used to integrate and analyse diverse biomedical data.
Drug repurposing: The process of identifying new therapeutic uses for existing medications.
Sympathetic nervous system: The branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for the ‘fight or flight’ response.
Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis: A neuroendocrine system that regulates stress responses through coordinated hormone release.
References
- Association of adiposity and its changes over time with COVID-19 risk in older adults with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome: a longitudinal evaluation in the PREDIMED-Plus cohort. BMC Medicine (2023).
- Potential Target Discovery and Drug Repurposing for Coronaviruses: Study Involving a Knowledge Graph–Based Approach. Journal of Medical Internet Research (2023).
- Modification of Sympathetic and Hypothalamic Responses to Prevent Complications of COVID-19: “Dam and Wall Concept”. Stresses (2023).
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