ABSTRACT
This study aimed to evaluate the association between COVID-19 incidence and outcome and national development level. Spearman correlation analysis method was performed to analyze the relationship between COVID- 19 incidence, mortality, and recovery rates as of 27 August 2020 and Human Development Index (HDI) and Inequalityadjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) from 177 countries. The pandemic situation varied obviously from country to country, and the most cases mainly concentrated in few countries with very high or high HDI, such as United States and Brazil. The incidence rates of COVID-19 were significantly positively correlated with HDI and IHDI, but the correlation among mortality, recovery rates, HDI, and IHDI were not significant. In the stratified analysis, the incidence rate in countries with low IHDI and the recovery rate in countries with medium IHDI were significantly positively correlated with IHDI. In countries with very high HDI, the mortality rate was significantly positively correlated with HDI. The findings provide new insights into the relationship between COVID-19 and social determinants of health and inspire policy makers to adjust prevention and control strategies for reducing damages caused by this epidemic. Nevertheless, long-term observation and follow-up studies are necessary to be implemented continuously in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Science Asia is the property of Science Asia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)