Socioeconomic characteristics of increased COVID-19 mortality identified

(HealthDay)—The socioeconomic characteristics associated with increased all-cause mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic are described in a report published in the August issue of Health Affairs.

Sarah Miller, Ph.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues estimated the changes in all-cause mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic by socioeconomic characteristics and occupation among nonelderly U.S. adults. Large-scale, national survey data were linked to administrative mortality records.

The researchers found that adults living in correctional facilities or in health care-related group quarters, those without health insurance coverage, those with family incomes below the federal poverty level, and those in occupations with limited work-from-home options had the largest mortality increases. Mortality increases were higher among non-Hispanic Black than non-Hispanic White respondents for almost all subgroups. Among those with health insurance, those not living in group quarters, those with work-from-home options, and those in essential industries, Hispanic respondents experienced larger increases in mortality than non-Hispanic Whites. Occupations related to installation, maintenance, and repair and production experienced the largest mortality increases.

"Given limited resources, policy makers should target the communities with the greatest exposures to COVID-19-related mortality—taking into account socioeconomic factors, racial and ethnic disparities, and, importantly, the interaction of these characteristics—if they wish to craft policies that improve health equity more broadly," the authors write.

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