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. 2020 Nov 23;42(4):698-703.
doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa136.

Impact of COVID-19 outbreak by income: hitting hardest the most deprived

Jose Miguel Baena-Díez  1   2   3 , María Barroso  3   4 , Sara Isabel Cordeiro-Coelho  1 , Jorge L Díaz  3   5 , María Grau  3   6   7
Affiliations

Impact of COVID-19 outbreak by income: hitting hardest the most deprived

Jose Miguel Baena-Díez et al. J Public Health (Oxf). .

Abstract

Background: The impact of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has many facets. This ecological study analysed age-standardized incidence rates by economic level in Barcelona.

Methods: We evaluated confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Barcelona (Spain) between 26 February 2020 and 19 April 2020. Districts were classified according to most recent (2017) mean income data. The reference for estimating age-standardized cumulative incidence rates was the 2018 European population. The association between incidence rate and mean income by district was estimated with the Spearman rho.

Results: The lower the mean income, the higher the COVID-19 incidence (Spearman rho = 0.83; P value = 0.003). Districts with the lowest mean income had the highest incidence of COVID-19 per 10 000 inhabitants; in contrast, those with the highest income had the lowest incidence. Specifically, the district with the lowest income had 2.5 times greater incidence of the disease, compared with the highest-income district [70 (95% confidence interval 66-73) versus 28 (25-31), respectively].

Conclusions: The incidence of COVID-19 showed an inverse socioeconomic gradient by mean income in the 10 districts of the city of Barcelona. Beyond healthcare for people with the disease, attention must focus on a health strategy for the whole population, particularly in the most deprived areas.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus infections; epidemiology; healthcare disparities; socioeconomic factors.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Average income and age-standardized incidence rates by district.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Map showing the 10 districts of Barcelona, classified by quartiles (Q) of mean income in euros (Q1 < 17 418; Q2 ≥ 17 418 and < 18 910; Q3 ≥ 18 910 and < 25 874; Q4 ≥ 25 874) and showing the age-standardized incidence rate (95% CI). Base layer extracted from icgc.cat.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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