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. 2021 Feb;49(1):48-56.
doi: 10.1177/1403494820984026. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

COVID-19 among immigrants in Norway, notified infections, related hospitalizations and associated mortality: A register-based study

Thor Indseth  1 , Mari Grøsland  1 , Trude Arnesen  2 , Katrine Skyrud  1 , Hilde Kløvstad  2 , Veneti Lamprini  2 , Kjetil Telle  1 , Marte Kjøllesdal  1
Affiliations

COVID-19 among immigrants in Norway, notified infections, related hospitalizations and associated mortality: A register-based study

Thor Indseth et al. Scand J Public Health. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Aim: Research concerning COVID-19 among immigrants is limited. We present epidemiological data for all notified cases of COVID-19 among the 17 largest immigrant groups in Norway, and related hospitalizations and mortality. Methods: We used data on all notified COVID-19 cases in Norway up to 18 October 2020, and associated hospitalizations and mortality, from the emergency preparedness register (including Norwegian Surveillance System for Communicable Diseases) set up by The Norwegian Institute of Public Health to handle the pandemic. We report numbers and rates per 100,000 people for notified COVID-19 cases, and related hospitalizations and mortality in the 17 largest immigrant groups in Norway, crude and with age adjustment. Results: The notification, hospitalization and mortality rates per 100,000 were 251, 21 and five, respectively, for non-immigrants; 567, 62 and four among immigrants; 408, 27 and two, respectively, for immigrants from Europe, North-America and Oceania; and 773, 106 and six, respectively for immigrants from Africa, Asia and South America. The notification rate was highest among immigrants from Somalia (2057), Pakistan (1868) and Iraq (1616). Differences between immigrants and non-immigrants increased when adjusting for age, especially for mortality. Immigrants had a high number of hospitalizations relative to notified cases compared to non-immigrants. Although the overall COVID-19 notification rate was higher in Oslo than outside of Oslo, the notification rate among immigrants compared to non-immigrants was not higher in Oslo than outside. Conclusions: We observed a higher COVID-19 notification rate in immigrants compared to non-immigrants and much higher hospitalization rate, with major differences between different immigrant groups. Somali-, Pakistani- and Iraqi-born immigrants had especially high rates.

Keywords: COVID-19; hospitalization; immigrants; migrants; mortality.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Number of notified infections per 100,000 people versus number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations per 100,000, immigrant groups and non-immigrants.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Timeline for numbers of notified cases and COVID-19-related hospitalizations among immigrants and non-immigrants in total and by region.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Notified cases and COVID-19-related hospitalizations according to age groups.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Age- and sex-adjusted numbers (per 100,000) for notified cases, hospitalizations and death for each immigrant group. Numbers <5 not shown.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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