Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec 8;9(12):1704.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare9121704.

Trends in COVID-19 Health Disparities in North Carolina: Preparing the Field for Long-Haul Patients

Thais Muratori Holanda  1 , Claudia Alberico  1 , Leslimar Rios-Colon  1 , Elena Arthur  1 , Deepak Kumar  1
Affiliations

Trends in COVID-19 Health Disparities in North Carolina: Preparing the Field for Long-Haul Patients

Thais Muratori Holanda et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Long-term coronavirus disease 2019 (long-COVID) refers to persistent symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) lingering beyond four weeks of initial infection. Approximately 30% of COVID-19 survivors develop prolonged symptoms. Communities of color are disproportionately affected by comorbidities, increasing the risk of severe COVID-19 and potentially leading to long-COVID. This study aims to identify trends in health disparities related to COVID-19 cases, which can help unveil potential populations at risk for long-COVID. All North Carolina (NC) counties (n = 100) were selected as a case study. Cases and vaccinations per 1000 population were calculated based on the NC Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 dashboard with reports current as of 8 October 2021, which were stratified by age groups and race/ethnicity. Then, NC COVID-19 cases were correlated to median household income, poverty, population density, and social vulnerability index themes. We observed a negative correlation between cases (p < 0.05) and deaths (p < 0.01) with both income and vaccination status. Moreover, there was a significant positive association between vaccination status and median household income (p < 0.01). Our results highlight the prevailing trend between exacerbated COVID-19 infection and low-income/under-resourced communities. Consequently, efforts and resources should be channeled to these communities to effectively monitor, diagnose, and treat against COVID-19 and potentially prevent an overwhelming number of long-COVID cases.

Keywords: COVID-19; health disparity; long-COVID; persistent; symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution for the 20 counties of North Carolina with the highest incidence of COVID-19 cases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard With Vaccination Data. [(accessed on 31 August 2021)]. Available online: https://covid19.who.int/
    1. Logue J.K., Franko N.M., McCulloch D.J., McDonald D., Magedson A., Wolf C.R., Chu H.Y. Sequelae in Adults at 6 Months After COVID-19 Infection. JAMA Netw. Open. 2021;4:e210830. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0830. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Datta S.D., Talwar A., Lee J.T. A Proposed Framework and Timeline of the Spectrum of Disease Due to SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Illness Beyond Acute Infection and Public Health Implications. JAMA. 2020;324:2251–2252. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.22717. - DOI - PubMed
    1. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence . Overview|COVID-19 Rapid Guideline: Managing the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19. NICE; London, UK: 2020. pp. 1–35. NICE Guideline. - PubMed
    1. Marshall M. The Lasting Misery of Coronavirus Long-Haulers. Nature. 2020;585:339–341. doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02598-6. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources