The COVID-19 pandemic and unemployment, subsistence needs and mental health among adults with HIV in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether reported prevalence of unemployment, subsistence needs, and symptoms of depression and anxiety among adults with diagnosed HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic were higher than expected. DESIGN: The Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) is a complex sample survey of adults with diagnosed HIV in the United States. METHODS: We analyzed 2015-2019 MMP data using linear regression models to calculate expected prevalence, along with corresponding prediction intervals (PI), for unemployment, subsistence needs, depression, and anxiety for June-November 2020. We then assessed whether observed estimates fell within the expected prediction interval for each characteristic, overall and among specific groups. RESULTS: Overall, the observed estimate for unemployment was higher than expected (17% vs. 12%) and exceeded the upper limit of the PI. Those living in households with incomes ≥400% of FPL were the only group where the observed prevalence of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 period was higher than the PIs; in this group, the prevalence of depression was 9% compared with a predicted value of 5% (75% higher) and the prevalence of anxiety was 11% compared with a predicted value 5% (137% higher). We did not see elevated levels of subsistence needs, although needs were higher among Black and Hispanic compared with White persons. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to deliver enhanced employment assistance to persons with HIV and provide screening and access to mental health services among higher income persons may be needed to mitigate the negative effects of the US COVID-19 pandemic.

Racial/Ethnic and Income Disparities in the Prevalence of Comorbidities that Are Associated With Risk for Severe COVID-19 Among Adults Receiving HIV Care, United States, 2014-2019.

BACKGROUND: Health inequities among people with HIV may be compounded by disparities in the prevalence of comorbidities associated with an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. SETTING: Complex sample survey designed to produce nationally representative estimates of behavioral and clinical characteristics of adults with diagnosed HIV in the United States. METHODS: We estimated the prevalence of having ≥1 diagnosed comorbidity associated with severe illness from COVID-19 and prevalence differences (PDs) by race/ethnicity, income level, and type of health insurance. We considered PDs ≥5 percentage points to be meaningful from a public health perspective. RESULTS: An estimated 37.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 36.6 to 39.2] of adults receiving HIV care had ≥1 diagnosed comorbidity associated with severe illness from COVID-19. Compared with non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks or African Americans were more likely [adjusted PD, 7.8 percentage points (95% CI: 5.7 to 10.0)] and non-Hispanic Asians were less likely [adjusted PD, -13.7 percentage points (95% CI: -22.3 to -5.0)] to have ≥1 diagnosed comorbidity after adjusting for age differences. There were no meaningful differences between non-Hispanic Whites and adults in other racial/ethnic groups. Those with low income were more likely to have ≥1 diagnosed comorbidity [PD, 7.3 percentage points (95% CI: 5.1 to 9.4)]. CONCLUSIONS: Among adults receiving HIV care, non-Hispanic Blacks and those with low income were more likely to have ≥1 diagnosed comorbidity associated with severe COVID-19. Building health equity among people with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic may require reducing the impact of comorbidities in heavily affected communities.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Case Surveillance - United States, January 22-May 30, 2020.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in 5,817,385 reported cases and 362,705 deaths worldwide through May, 30, 2020,† including 1,761,503 aggregated reported cases and 103,700 deaths in the United States.§ Previous analyses during February-early April 2020 indicated that age ≥65 years and underlying health conditions were associated with a higher risk for severe outcomes, which were less common among children aged <18 years (1-3). This report describes demographic characteristics, underlying health conditions, symptoms, and outcomes among 1,320,488 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases individually reported to CDC during January 22-May 30, 2020. Cumulative incidence, 403.6 cases per 100,000 persons,¶ was similar among males (401.1) and females (406.0) and highest among persons aged ≥80 years (902.0). Among 599,636 (45%) cases with known information, 33% of persons were Hispanic or Latino of any race (Hispanic), 22% were non-Hispanic black (black), and 1.3% were non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN). Among 287,320 (22%) cases with sufficient data on underlying health conditions, the most common were cardiovascular disease (32%), diabetes (30%), and chronic lung disease (18%). Overall, 184,673 (14%) patients were hospitalized, 29,837 (2%) were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), and 71,116 (5%) died. Hospitalizations were six times higher among patients with a reported underlying condition (45.4%) than those without reported underlying conditions (7.6%). Deaths were 12 times higher among patients with reported underlying conditions (19.5%) compared with those without reported underlying conditions (1.6%). The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be severe, particularly in certain population groups. These preliminary findings underscore the need to build on current efforts to collect and analyze case data, especially among those with underlying health conditions. These data are used to monitor trends in COVID-19 illness, identify and respond to localized incidence increase, and inform policies and practices designed to reduce transmission in the United States.