Social Determinants Associated with COVID-19 Mortality in the United States

  1. Shayom Debopadhaya
  2. Ariella D. Sprague
  3. Hongxi Mou
  4. Tiburon L. Benavides
  5. Sarah M. Ahn
  6. Cole A. Reschke
  7. John S. Erickson
  8. Kristin P. Bennett

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Abstract

This study examines social determinants associated with disparities in COVID-19 mortality rates in the United States. Using county-level data, 42 negative binomial mixed models were used to evaluate the impact of social determinants on COVID-19 outcome. First, to identify proper controls, the effect of 24 high-risk factors on COVID-19 mortality rate was quantified. Then, the high-risk terms found to be significant were controlled for in an association study between 41 social determinants and COVID-19 mortality rates. The results describe that ethnic minorities, immigrants, socioeconomic inequalities, and early exposure to COVID-19 are associated with increased COVID-19 mortality, while the prevalence of asthma, suicide, and excessive drinking is associated with decreased mortality. Overall, we recognize that social inequality places disadvantaged groups at risk, which must be addressed through future policies and programs. Additionally, we reveal possible relationships between lung disease, mental health, and COVID-19 that need to be explored on a clinical level.

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  1. Version published to 10.1101/2020.08.28.20183848v2 on medRxiv
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.08.28.20183848: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    COVIDMINDER is run by the Rensselaer Institute for Data Exploration and Applications at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
    COVIDMINDER
    suggested: None

    Results from OddPub: Thank you for sharing your code.

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

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  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.08.28.20183848v1 on medRxiv