Waves of inequality: income differences in intensive care due to Covid-19 in Sweden.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Socioeconomically vulnerable groups were overall more likely to develop severe Covid-19, but specific conditions in terms of preparedness, knowledge and the properties of the virus itself changed during the course of the pandemic. Inequalities in Covid-19 may therefore shift over time. This study examines the relationship between income and intensive care (ICU) episodes due to Covid-19 in Sweden during three distinct waves.

Methods

This study uses Swedish register data on the total adult population and estimates the relative risk (RR) of ICU episodes due to Covid-19 by income quartile for each month between March 2020 and May 2022, and for each wave, using Poisson regression analyses.

Results

The first wave had modest income-related inequalities, while the

SUBMITTER: Gauffin K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10393505 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature