Excess death among Latino people in California during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Latino people in the US are experiencing higher excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic than any other racial/ethnic group, but it is unclear which subgroups within this diverse population are most affected. Such information is necessary to target policies that prevent further excess mortality and reduce inequities.

Methods: Using death certificate data for January 1, 2016 through February 29, 2020 and time-series models, we estimated the expected weekly deaths among Latino people in California from March 1 through October 3, 2020. We quantified excess mortality as observed minus expected deaths and risk ratios (RR) as the ratio of observed to expected deaths. We considered subgroups defined by age, sex, place of birth, education, occupation, and combinations of these factors.

Findings: During the first seven months of the pandemic, Latino deaths in California exceeded expected deaths by 10,316, a 31% increase. Excess death rates were greatest for individuals born in Mexico (RR 1.44; 95% PI, 1.41, 1.48) or Central America (RR 1.49; 95% PI, 1.37, 1.64), with less than a high school degree (RR 1.41; 95% PI, 1.35, 1.46), or in food-and-agriculture (RR 1.60; 95% PI, 1.48, 1.74) or manufacturing occupations (RR 1.59; 95% PI, 1.50, 1.69). Immigrant disadvantages in excess death were magnified among working-age Latinos in essential occupations.

Interpretation: The pandemic has disproportionately impacted mortality among Latino immigrants and Latinos in unprotected essential jobs; Interventions to reduce these disparities should include early vaccination, workplace safety enforcement, and expanded access to medical care.

Funding: National Institute on Aging; UCSF.

Research in context: Evidence before this study: Several articles have suggested all-cause excess mortality estimates are superior to official COVID-19 counts for assessing the impact of the pandemic on marginalized populations that lack access to testing and healthcare. We searched PubMed, Google scholar, and the medRxiv preprint database through December 22, 2020 for studies of ("excess mortality" or "excess death") AND ("COVID-19" or "coronavirus") set in the United States and we identified two empirical studies with estimates of excess mortality among Latinos during the pandemic. The study set in California (from our research team) found per capita excess mortality was highest among Black and Latino people. The national study found percent excess mortality was significantly higher among Latino people than any other racial/ethnic group. Neither study further disaggregated the diverse Latino population or provided subgroup estimates to clarify why excess pandemic mortality is so high in this population. In the U.S., official COVID-19 statistics are rarely disaggregated by place of birth, education, or occupation which has resulted in a lack of evidence of how these factors have impacted mortality during the pandemic. No study to date of excess mortality in the U.S. has provided estimates for immigrant or occupational subgroups.Added value of this study: Our population-based observational study of all-cause mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic provides the first estimates of within-group heterogeneity among the Latino population in California - one of the populations hardest hit by COVID-19 in the U.S. We provide the first subgroup estimates by place of birth and occupational sector, in addition to combined estimates by foreign-birth and participation in an essential job and education. In doing so, we reveal that Latino immigrants in essential occupations have the highest risk of excess death during the pandemic among working-age Latinos. We highlight the heightened risk of excess mortality associated with food/agriculture and manufacturing occupational sectors, essential sectors in which workers may lack COVID-19 protections.Implications of all the available evidence: Our study revealed stark disparities in excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic among Latinos, pointing to the particularly high vulnerability of Latino immigrants and Latinos in essential jobs. These findings may offer insight into the disproportionate COVID-19 mortality experienced by immigrants or similarly marginalized groups in other contexts. Interventions to reduce these disparities should include policies enforcing occupational safety, especially for immigrant workers, early vaccination, and expanded access to medical care.