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Racial, Economic, and Health Inequality and COVID-19 Infection in the United States.
Abedi, Vida; Olulana, Oluwaseyi; Avula, Venkatesh; Chaudhary, Durgesh; Khan, Ayesha; Shahjouei, Shima; Li, Jiang; Zand, Ramin.
  • Abedi V; Department of Molecular and Functional Genomics, Weis Center for Research, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA.
  • Olulana O; Biocomplexity Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
  • Avula V; Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Scranton, PA, USA.
  • Chaudhary D; Department of Molecular and Functional Genomics, Weis Center for Research, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA.
  • Khan A; Geisinger Neuroscience Institute, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA.
  • Shahjouei S; Geisinger Neuroscience Institute, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA.
  • Li J; Geisinger Neuroscience Institute, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA.
  • Zand R; Department of Molecular and Functional Genomics, Weis Center for Research, Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities ; 8(3): 732-742, 2021 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-739703
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ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES:

There is preliminary evidence of racial and social economic disparities in the population infected by and dying from COVID-19. The goal of this study is to report the associations of COVID-19 with respect to race, health, and economic inequality in the United States.

METHODS:

We performed an ecological study of the associations between infection and mortality rate of COVID-19 and demographic, socioeconomic, and mobility variables from 369 counties (total population, 102,178,117 [median, 73,447; IQR, 30,761-256,098]) from the seven most affected states (Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts).

RESULTS:

The risk factors for infection and mortality are different. Our analysis shows that counties with more diverse demographics, higher population, education, income levels, and lower disability rates were at a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. However, counties with higher proportion with disability and poverty rates had a higher death rate. African Americans were more vulnerable to COVID-19 than other ethnic groups (1981 African American infected cases versus 658 Whites per million). Data on mobility changes corroborate the impact of social distancing.

CONCLUSION:

Our study provides evidence of racial, economic, and health inequality in the population infected by and dying from COVID-19. These observations might be due to the workforce of essential services, poverty, and access to care. Counties in more urban areas are probably better equipped at providing care. The lower rate of infection, but a higher death rate in counties with higher poverty and disability could be due to lower levels of mobility, but a higher rate of comorbidities and health care access.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Racial Groups / Health Status Disparities / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: North America Language: English Journal: J Racial Ethn Health Disparities Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S40615-020-00833-4

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Racial Groups / Health Status Disparities / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: North America Language: English Journal: J Racial Ethn Health Disparities Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: S40615-020-00833-4