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. 2023 Jan 11:1-31.
doi: 10.1007/s12134-023-01007-x. Online ahead of print.

Risk of Covid-19 Severe Outcomes and Mortality in Migrants and Ethnic Minorities Compared to the General Population in the European WHO Region: a Systematic Review

Elena Mazzalai #  1 , Dara Giannini #  1   2 , Maria Elena Tosti  3 , Franca D'Angelo  3 , Silvia Declich  2   3 , Anissa Jaljaa  1 , Susanna Caminada  1   2 , Federica Turatto  1 , Chiara De Marchi  1 , Angela Gatta  1 , Aurora Angelozzi  4 , Giulia Marchetti  2   3 , Scilla Pizzarelli  5 , Maurizio Marceca  1   2
Affiliations

Risk of Covid-19 Severe Outcomes and Mortality in Migrants and Ethnic Minorities Compared to the General Population in the European WHO Region: a Systematic Review

Elena Mazzalai et al. J Int Migr Integr. .

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on migrants and ethnic minorities (MEMs). Socio-economic factors and legal, administrative and language barriers are among the reasons for this increased susceptibility. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of Covid-19 on MEMs compared to the general population in terms of serious outcomes. We conducted a systematic review collecting studies on the impact of Covid-19 on MEMs compared to the general population in the WHO European Region regarding hospitalisation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality, published between 01/01/2020 and 19/03/2021. Nine researchers were involved in selection, study quality assessment and data extraction. Of the 82 studies included, 15 of the 16 regarding hospitalisation for Covid-19 reported an increased risk for MEMs compared to the white and/or native population and 22 out of the 28 studies focusing on the ICU admission rates found an increased risk for MEMs. Among the 65 studies on mortality, 43 report a higher risk for MEMs. An increased risk of adverse outcomes was reported for MEMs. Social determinants of health are among the main factors involved in the genesis of health inequalities: a disadvantaged socio-economic status, a framework of structural racism and asymmetric access to healthcare are linked to increased susceptibility to the consequences of Covid-19. These findings underline the need for policymakers to consider the socio-economic barriers when designing prevention plans.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12134-023-01007-x.

Keywords: Covid-19; Ethnic minorities; Europe; Health inequalities; Migrants; Severe outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing InterestsThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA flow diagram
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