Socioeconomic Inequalities in COVID-19 in a European Urban Area: Two Waves, Two Patterns

Marc Marí-Dell’Olmo, Mercè Gotsens, M Isabel Pasarín, Maica Rodríguez-Sanz, Lucía Artazcoz, Patricia Garcia de Olalla, Cristina Rius and Carme Borrell
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Marc Marí-Dell’Olmo: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
Mercè Gotsens: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
M Isabel Pasarín: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
Maica Rodríguez-Sanz: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
Lucía Artazcoz: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
Patricia Garcia de Olalla: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
Cristina Rius: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain
Carme Borrell: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, 08023 Barcelona, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-12

Abstract: Background : The objective of this paper is to analyze social inequalities in COVID-19 incidence, stratified by age, sex, geographical area, and income in Barcelona during the first two waves of the pandemic. Methods : We collected data on COVID-19 cases confirmed by laboratory tests during the first two waves of the pandemic (1 March to 15 July and 16 July to 30 November, 2020) in Barcelona. For each wave and sex, we calculated smooth cumulative incidence by census tract using a hierarchical Bayesian model. We analyzed income inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19, categorizing the census tracts into quintiles based on the income indicator. Results : During the two waves, women showed higher COVID-19 cumulative incidence under 64 years, while the trend was reversed after that threshold. The incidence of the disease was higher in some poor neighborhoods. The risk ratio (RR) increased in the poorest groups compared to the richest ones, mainly in the second wave, with RR being 1.67 (95% Credible Interval-CI-: 1.41–1.96) in the fifth quintile income group for men and 1.71 (95% CI: 1.44–1.99) for women. Conclusion : Our results indicate the existence of inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19 in an urban area of Southern Europe.

Keywords: COVID-19; inequalities; geographical area; urban area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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