Coronavirus disease 2019 mortality: A multivariate ecological analysis in relation to ethnicity, population density, obesity, deprivation and pollution

Bray, I.; Gibson, A.; White, J.

Abstract

Background: There is emerging evidence about characteristics that may increase the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality, but they are highly correlated. Methods: An ecological analysis was used to estimate associations between these variables and age-standardised COVID-19 mortality rates at the local authority level. Results: Ethnicity, population density and overweight/obesity were all found to have strong independent associations with COVID-19 mortality, at the local authority level. Discussion: This analysis provides some preliminary evidence about which variables are independently associated with COVID-19 mortality and suggests that others (deprivation and pollution) are not directly linked. It highlights the importance of multivariate analyses to understand the factors that increase vulnerability to COVID-19.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 28, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jul 7, 2020
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: May 12, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: May 12, 2020
• Journal: Public Health
• Print ISSN: 0033-3506
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 185
• Pages: 261-263
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.06.056
• Keywords: Covid-19, deprivation, ethnicity, pollution, overweight, obesity, population density
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5973269