Vulnerability to COVID-19: Cluster analysis of census tracts in Malaga, Spain

The United Nations 2030 Agenda recognized the importance of focusing on cities to achieve sustainable development goals. The COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed the need to consider spatial variables when analyzing the impact of a risk or epidemic. Many studies have assessed the impact of this pandemic on countries and its connection with numerous population-related factors, such as vulnerability and resilience. However, there have been less spatial analyses at an urban and neighborhood scale, also considering time as a variable. In spite that, some researchers have recently shown how the patterns of the pandemic evolution is changing in time. We performed a case study in Malaga (Spain) using a tempo-spatial analysis with the purpose of going as deep as possible into the micro-scale of the pandemic impacts, without leaving anyone behind. The micro-level research using composite indexes and cluster analysis clarify the living conditions of people. The results show some patterns of the spatial segregation in the neighborhoods that could better oriented integrated policies and good governance in the recovery process. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Urban Affairs is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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 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 . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Introduction: Historical Development and Progression of Clinical Research on Ageing.

Research on ageing has developed since Greek times. It had a very slow advance during the Middle Ages and a big increase in the Renaissance. Darwin contributed somehow to the understanding of the ageing process and initiated a cumulus of ageing explications under the name of Evolutionary Theories. Subsequently, science discovered a great number of genes, molecules, and cell processes that intervened in ageing. This led to the beginning of trials in animals to retard or avoid the ageing process. Alongside this, improvements, geriatric clinical investigations (with the evidence-based medicine tools) started to consolidate as a discipline and commenced to show the challenges and deficiencies of actual clinical trials in ageing; the COVID-19 outbreak revealed some of them. The history of clinical research in ageing has already begun and is essential to affront the challenges that the world will face with the increasing ageing population.

Variability in case fatality rate risk due to Covid-19 according to health services provider in Mexico City hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To describe differences in Case Fatality Rate (CFR) for Covid-19 among healthcare subsystems in Mexico City between March and December 2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective secondary data analysis from the National Epidemiological Surveillance System data of Covid-19 cases. Information about health provider institutions was retrieved from the Catalogue of Health Establishments (CLUES). Logistic regressions were fitted to determine the association between health subsystems and mortality associated to Covid-19. The analyses were divided between hospitalized and ambulatory patients. RESULTS: The probability of dying from Covid-19 was higher among those treated at Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) (Hospitalized:OR=5.11, Ambulatory:OR=36.57), Instituto de Se-guridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE) (Hospitalized:OR=2.10, Ambulatory:OR=9.19), Secretaría de Salud (SS) (Hospitalized:OR=1.94, Ambulatory:OR=5.29) or other public institutions (Hospitalized: OR=1.70, Ambulatory:OR=9.56) than in those treated in private in-stitutions. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in healthcare quality and access between health subsystems are profound. It is imperative to increase the capacity and quality of the different health subsystems to improve health outcomes.

Disability-Adjusted Life Years for the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Mexican Population.

Mexico is one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 disease. Although there is vast information on the disease, there still are unknown data on the societal and economic cost of the pandemic. To estimate this impact, the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) can be a useful tool. Objective: To assess the DALYs due to COVID-19 in Mexico. Methods: We used the data released by the Mexican Ministry of Health to estimate the DALYs by the sum of the years of life lived with disability (YLDs) and the years of life lost (YLLs). Results: A total of 1,152,885 confirmed cases and 324,570 suspected cases of COVID-19 have been registered. Half of the cases were men, with a median age of 43.4 ± 16.9 years. About 8.3% died. A total of 39,202 YLDs were attributable to COVID-19. The total YLLs caused by COVID-19 were 2,126,222. A total of 2,165,424.5 DALYs for COVID-19 were estimated. The total DALYs were the highest in people between 50 and 59 years. The DALYs for each COVID-19 case were the highest in individuals between 60 and 79 years. Conclusion: The DALYs generated by the COVID-19 represent a more significant disease burden than that reported for other causes, such as the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Although it impacts all age groups in terms of disability, the most affected group are people over 50 years of age, whose risk of death is higher.

Spatial epidemiological study of the distribution, clustering, and risk factors associated with early COVID-19 mortality in Mexico.

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has significantly impacted economic and public healthcare systems worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 is highly lethal in older adults (>65 years old) and in cases with underlying medical conditions, including chronic respiratory diseases, immunosuppression, and cardio-metabolic diseases, including severe obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico has led to many fatal cases in younger patients attributable to cardio-metabolic conditions. Thus, in the present study, we aimed to perform an early spatial epidemiological analysis for the COVID-19 outbreak in Mexico. Firstly, to evaluate how mortality risk from COVID-19 among tested individuals (MRt) is geographically distributed and secondly, to analyze the association of spatial predictors of MRt across different states in Mexico, controlling for the severity of the disease. Among health-related variables, diabetes and obesity were positively associated with COVID-19 fatality. When analyzing Mexico as a whole, we identified that both the percentages of external and internal migration had positive associations with early COVID-19 mortality risk with external migration having the second-highest positive association. As an indirect measure of urbanicity, population density, and overcrowding in households, the physicians-to-population ratio has the highest positive association with MRt. In contrast, the percentage of individuals in the age group between 10 to 39 years had a negative association with MRt. Geographically, Quintana Roo, Baja California, Chihuahua, and Tabasco (until April 2020) had higher MRt and standardized mortality ratios, suggesting that risks in these states were above what was nationally expected. Additionally, the strength of the association between some spatial predictors and the COVID-19 fatality risk varied by zone.

Early estimation of the risk factors for hospitalization and mortality by COVID-19 in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Due to a high prevalence of chronic non-degenerative diseases, it is suspected that COVID 19 poses a high risk of fatal complications for the Mexican population. The present study aims to estimate the risk factors for hospitalization and death in the Mexican population infected by SARS-CoV-2. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used the publicly available data released by the Epidemiological Surveillance System for Viral Respiratory Diseases of the Mexican Ministry of Health (Secretaría de Salud, SSA). All records of positive SARS-CoV-2 cases were included. Two multiple logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the association between hospitalization and mortality, with other covariables. Data on 10,544 individuals (57.68% men), with mean age 46.47±15.62, were analyzed. Men were about 1.54 times more likely to be hospitalized than women (p<0.001, 95% C.I. 1.37-1.74); individuals aged 50-74 and ≥74 were more likely to be hospitalized than people aged 25-49 (OR 2.05, p<0.001, 95% C.I. 1.81-2.32, and OR 3.84, p<0.001, 95% C.I. 2.90-5.15, respectively). People with hypertension, obesity, and diabetes were more likely to be hospitalized than people without these comorbidities (p<0.01). Men had more risk of death in comparison to women (OR = 1.53, p<0.001, 95% C.I. 1.30-1.81) and individuals aged 50-74 and ≥75 were more likely to die than people aged 25-49 (OR 1.96, p<0.001, 95% C.I. 1.63-2.34, and OR 3.74, p<0.001, 95% C.I. 2.80-4.98, respectively). Hypertension, obesity, and diabetes presented in combination conveyed a higher risk of dying in comparison to not having these diseases (OR = 2.10; p<0.001, 95% C.I. 1.50-2.93). Hospitalization, intubation and pneumonia entail a higher risk of dying (OR 5.02, p<0.001, 95% C.I. 3.88-6.50; OR 4.27, p<0.001, 95% C.I. 3.26-5.59, and OR = 2.57; p<0.001, 95% C.I. 2.11-3.13, respectively). Our study's main limitation is the lack of information on mild (asymptomatic) or moderate cases of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: The present study points out that in Mexico, where an important proportion of the population has two or more chronic conditions simultaneously, a high mortality rate is a serious risk for those infected by SARS-CoV-2.

Unequal Impact of Structural Health Determinants and Comorbidity on COVID-19 Severity and Lethality in Older Mexican Adults: Considerations Beyond Chronological Aging.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on older adults. Mexico's population is younger, yet COVID-19's impact on older adults is comparable to countries with older population structures. Here, we aim to identify health and structural determinants that increase susceptibility to COVID-19 in older Mexican adults beyond chronological aging. METHODS: We analyzed confirmed COVID-19 cases in older adults using data from the General Directorate of Epidemiology of Mexican Ministry of Health. We modeled risk factors for increased COVID-19 severity and mortality, using mixed models to incorporate multilevel data concerning healthcare access and marginalization. We also evaluated structural factors and comorbidity profiles compared to chronological age for COVID-19 mortality risk prediction. RESULTS: We analyzed 20 804 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases in adults aged 60 and older. Male sex, smoking, diabetes, and obesity were associated with pneumonia, hospitalization, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission in older adults, CKD and COPD were associated with hospitalization. High social lag indexes and access to private care were predictors of COVID-19 severity and mortality. Age was not a predictor of COVID-19 severity in individuals without comorbidities and combination of structural factors and comorbidities were better predictors of COVID-19 lethality and severity compared to chronological age alone. COVID-19 baseline lethality hazards were heterogeneously distributed across Mexican municipalities, particularly when comparing urban and rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Structural factors and comorbidity explain excess risk for COVID-19 severity and mortality over chronological age in older Mexican adults. Clinical decision-making related to COVID-19 should focus away from chronological aging onto more a comprehensive geriatric care approach.