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. 2023 Sep 1;20(17):6702.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20176702.

Spatial Variation in COVID-19 Mortality in New York City and Its Association with Neighborhood Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity Status

Samantha Friedman  1 , Tabassum Z Insaf  2   3 , Temilayo Adeyeye  2   4 , Jin-Wook Lee  5
Affiliations

Spatial Variation in COVID-19 Mortality in New York City and Its Association with Neighborhood Race, Ethnicity, and Nativity Status

Samantha Friedman et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

We examined the association between variation in COVID-19 deaths and spatial differences in the racial, ethnic, and nativity-status composition of New York City neighborhoods, which has received little scholarly attention. Using COVID-19 mortality data (through 31 May 2021) and socioeconomic and demographic data from the American Community Survey at the Zip Code Tabulation Area level as well as United-Hospital-Fund-level neighborhood data from the Community Health Survey of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, we employed multivariable Poisson generalized estimating equation models and assessed the association between COVID-19 mortality, racial/ethnic/nativity-status composition, and other ecological factors. Our results showed an association between neighborhood-level racial and ethnic composition and COVID-19 mortality rates that is contingent upon the neighborhood-level nativity-status composition. After multivariable adjustment, ZCTAs with large shares of native-born Blacks and foreign-born Hispanics and Asians were more likely to have higher COVID-19 mortality rates than areas with large shares of native-born Whites. Areas with more older adults and essential workers, higher levels of household crowding, and population with diabetes were also at high risk. Small-area analyses of COVID-19 mortality can inform health policy responses to neighborhood inequalities on the basis of race, ethnicity, and immigration status.

Keywords: COVID-19 mortality; New York City; immigrant neighborhoods; minority health disparities; spatial analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Neighborhood Map of ZCTAs New York City.
Figure A2
Figure A2
Map of residuals from multivariate model of racial, ethnic, and nativity-status disparities in New York City, 29 February 2020 to 31 May 2021.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Predicted rates for COVID-19 mortality per 100,000 population at the ZCTA level in New York City, 29 February 2020 to 31 May 2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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