1. COVID-19 incidence and outcome by affluence/deprivation across three pandemic waves in Ireland: A retrospective cohort study using routinely collected data.
- Author
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McKeown, Declan, McCourt, Angela, Hendrick, Louise, O'Farrell, Anne, Donohue, Fionnuala, Grabowsky, Laurin, Kavanagh, Paul, Garvey, Patricia, O'Donnell, Joan, O'Connor, Lois, Cuddihy, John, Robinson, Matt, O'Reilly, Declan, Staines, Anthony, and Johnson, Howard
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COVID-19 pandemic , *COVID-19 , *COMMUNICABLE diseases , *REPORTING of diseases , *COHORT analysis - Abstract
Background: Since the pandemic onset, deprivation has been seen as a significant determinant of COVID-19 incidence and mortality. This study explores outcomes of COVID-19 in the context of material deprivation across three pandemic waves in Ireland. Methods: Between 1st March 2020 and 13th May 2021, 252,637 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases were notified in Ireland. Cases were notified to the national Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting (CIDR) system. Each case was geo-referenced and assigned a deprivation category according to the Haase-Pratschke (HP) Deprivation Index. Regression modelling examined three outcomes: admission to hospital; admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) and death. Results: Deprivation increased the likelihood of contracting COVID-19 in all age groups and across all pandemic waves, except for the 20–39 age group. Deprivation, age, comorbidity and male gender carried increased risk of hospital admission. Deprivation was not a factor in predicting ICU admission or death, and diagnosis in wave 2 was associated with the lowest risk of all three outcomes. Conclusions: Our study suggests that COVID-19 spreads easily through all strata of society and particularly in the more deprived population; however this was not a consistent finding. Ireland is ethnically more homogenous than other countries reporting a larger deprivation gradient, and in such societies, structural racial differences may contribute more to poor COVID outcomes than elements of deprivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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