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. 2023 Aug 15;14(1):4919.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40568-4.

Inequalities in COVID-19 severe morbidity and mortality by country of birth in Sweden

Mikael Rostila  1   2 , Agneta Cederström  3   4 , Matthew Wallace  5 , Siddartha Aradhya  5 , Malin Ahrne  6 , Sol P Juárez  3   4
Affiliations

Inequalities in COVID-19 severe morbidity and mortality by country of birth in Sweden

Mikael Rostila et al. Nat Commun. .

Abstract

Migrants have been more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether this has varied over the course of the pandemic remains unknown. We examined how inequalities in intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death related to COVID-19 by country of birth have evolved over the course of the pandemic, while considering the contribution of social conditions and vaccination uptake. A population-based cohort study was conducted including adults living in Sweden between March 1, 2020 and June 1, 2022 (n = 7,870,441). Poisson regressions found that migrants from Africa, Middle East, Asia and European countries without EU28/EEA, UK and Switzerland had higher risk of COVID-19 mortality and ICU admission than Swedish-born. High risks of COVID-19 ICU admission was also found in migrants from South America. Inequalities were generally reduced through subsequent waves of the pandemic. In many migrant groups socioeconomic status and living conditions contributed to the disparities while vaccination campaigns were decisive when such became available.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Incidence rate ratios (RR) of COVID-19 related ICU admission and mortality by region/country of birth.
Mean estimates are derived from a study population of n = 7,870,441 with 18,731 COVID-19 related deaths and 8705 COVID-19 related ICU admissions. The error bars show the 95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Incidence rate ratios (RR) of COVID-19 related ICU admission and mortality by region/country of birth and wave of the pandemic.
Top panels show models adjusted for age and sex, and bottom panels show models additionally adjusted for SES, living conditions, and vaccination status. Mean estimates are derived from a study population of n = 7,870,441 with 18,731 COVID-19 related deaths and 8705 COVID-19 related ICU admissions. The error bars show the 95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Incidence rate ratios (RR) of COVID-19 related ICU admission and mortality by region/country of birth comparing with and without vaccination status during the fourth wave of the pandemic.
Mean estimates are derived from a study population of n = 7,870,441 with 18,731 COVID-19 related deaths and 8705 COVID-19 related ICU admissions. The error bars show the 95% confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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