Socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence and perceived dangerousness of SARS-CoV-2 infections in two early German hotspots: findings from a seroepidemiological study

Wachtler, Benjamin; Müters, Stephan; Michalski, Niels; Koschollek, Carmen; Albrecht, Stefan; Haller, Sebastian; Hamouda, Osamah; Hövener, Claudia; Hoebel, Jens

doi:10.1186/s13104-021-05784-5

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Higher incomes also provide the financial resources to travel during holidays, increasing the risk of introducing the virus into defined and socioeconomically more homogeneous local populations [ 62 ]. This would be in line with findings such as those from Germany, where no socioeconomic inequalities in infections were found in well-contained early hotspots [ 70 ]. Furthermore, this would be in line with the conceptualization of temporal dynamics in disease distribution proposed by Clouston et al [ 71 ] using stages of disease theory.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Temporal Dynamics of Socioeconomic Inequalities in COVID-19 Outcomes Over the Course of the Pandemic—A Scoping Review

Beese¹,

Waldhauer²,

Wollgast³

et al. 2022

Int J Public Health

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Objectives: International evidence of socioeconomic inequalities in COVID-19 outcomes is extensive and growing, but less is known about the temporal dynamics of these inequalities over the course of the pandemic.Methods: We systematically searched the Embase and Scopus databases. Additionally, several relevant journals and the reference lists of all included articles were hand-searched. This study follows the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews.Results: Forty-six studies were included. Of all analyses, 91.4% showed stable or increasing socioeconomic inequalities in COVID-19 outcomes over the course of the pandemic, with socioeconomically disadvantaged populations being most affected. Furthermore, the study results showed temporal dynamics in socioeconomic inequalities in COVID-19, frequently initiated through higher COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates in better-off populations and subsequent crossover dynamics to higher rates in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations (41.9% of all analyses).Conclusion: The identified temporal dynamics of socioeconomic inequalities in COVID-19 outcomes have relevant public health implications. Socioeconomic inequalities should be monitored over time to enable the adaption of prevention and interventions according to the social particularities of specific pandemic phases.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Temporal Dynamics of Socioeconomic Inequalities in COVID-19 Outcomes Over the Course of the Pandemic—A Scoping Review

Beese¹,

Waldhauer²,

Wollgast³

et al. 2022

Int J Public Health

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“…Other studies conducted in European countries have found similar results for education (20,24). However, there is divergence when looking at the role of occupation, income, nationality and ethnicity, with studies showing conflicting results (20,(25)(26)(27). This may be due to differences in survey design and measurement across studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Socio-economic determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection: results from a population-based serosurvey in Geneva, Switzerland

Santa-Ramírez

Wisniak

Pullen

et al. 2022

Preprint

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BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 infection and its health consequences have disproportionally affected disadvantaged socio-economic groups globally. This study aimed to analyze the association between socio-economic conditions and having developed anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a population-based sample in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland.MethodsData was obtained from a population-based serosurvey of adults in Geneva and their household members, between November and December, 2020, towards the end of the second pandemic wave in the canton. Participants were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Socio-economic conditions representing different dimensions were self-reported. Mixed effects logistic regressions were conducted for each predictor to test its association with seropositive status as the main outcome.Results2,889 adults completed the study questionnaire and were included in the final analysis. Retired participants and those living in suburban areas had lower odds of a seropositive result when compared to employed participants (OR 0.42, 95% CI - 0.20 – 0.87) and those living in urban areas (OR 0.67, 95% CI - 0.46 – 0.97), respectively. People facing financial hardship for less than a year had higher odds of a seropositive result compared to those who had never faced them (OR 2.23, 95% CI - 1.01 – 4.95). Educational level, occupational position and household income were not associated with being seropositive, nor were ethnicity or country of birth.DiscussionWhile traditional measures of socio-economic position did not seem to be related to the risk of being infected in this sample, this study sheds lights on the importance of examining the broader social determinants of health when evaluating the differential impact of the pandemic within the population.

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“…However, the state of research is ambiguous in that case. For Germany, different studies found higher [42] versus lower risk perception of COVID-19 [21] in lower educated groups using different data sources. Pre-pandemic studies have shown in many cases that education is strongly correlated with health literacy [43,44].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic differences in the reduction of face-to-face contacts in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

et al. 2022

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to physical distancing measures to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Evidence on contact dynamics in different socioeconomic groups is still sparse. This study aimed to investigate the association of socioeconomic status with private and professional contact reductions in the first COVID-19 wave in Germany. Methods Data from two especially affected municipalities were derived from the population-based cross-sectional seroepidemiological CORONA-MONITORING lokal study (data collection May–July 2020). The study sample (n = 3,637) was restricted to working age (18–67 years). We calculated the association of educational and occupational status (low, medium, high) with self-reported private and professional contact reductions with respect to former contact levels in the first wave of the pandemic. Multivariate Poisson regressions were performed to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) adjusted for municipality, age, gender, country of birth, household size, contact levels before physical distancing measures, own infection status, contact to SARS-CoV-2 infected people and working remotely. Results The analyses showed significant differences in the initial level of private and professional contacts by educational and occupational status. Less private contact reductions with lower educational status (PR low vs. high = 0,79 [CI = 0.68–0.91], p = 0.002; PR medium vs. high = 0,93 [CI = 0.89–0.97], p = 0.001) and less professional contact reductions with lower educational status (PR low vs. high = 0,87 [CI = 0.70–1.07], p = 0.179; PR medium vs. high = 0,89 [CI = 0.83–0.95], p = 0.001) and lower occupational status (PR low vs. high = 0,62 [CI = 0.55–0.71], p < 0.001; PR medium vs. high = 0,82 [CI = 0.77–0.88], p < 0.001) were observed. Conclusions Our results indicate disadvantages for groups with lower socioeconomic status in private and professional contact reductions in the first wave of the pandemic. This may be associated with the higher risk of infection among individuals in lower socioeconomic groups. Preventive measures that a) adequately explain the importance of contact restrictions with respect to varying living and working conditions and b) facilitate the implementation of these reductions especially in the occupational setting seem necessary to better protect structurally disadvantaged groups during epidemics.

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Socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence and perceived dangerousness of SARS-CoV-2 infections in two early German hotspots: findings from a seroepidemiological study

Cited by 12 publications

References 18 publications

Temporal Dynamics of Socioeconomic Inequalities in COVID-19 Outcomes Over the Course of the Pandemic—A Scoping Review

Temporal Dynamics of Socioeconomic Inequalities in COVID-19 Outcomes Over the Course of the Pandemic—A Scoping Review

Socio-economic determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection: results from a population-based serosurvey in Geneva, Switzerland

Socioeconomic differences in the reduction of face-to-face contacts in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

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