In Scotland, in the northernmost part of the United Kingdom, regular statistical surveys are published on trends in poverty in not-so-privileged areas. This time, Dr. Nazir Lone of the University of Edinburgh studied the risk of infection and death in poorer areas of Scotland during the first wave of the Corona pandemic. He concluded that people from poorer neighbourhoods were twice as likely to become infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus and die than people living in wealthier neighbourhoods.
However, according to the study, „Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation,“ the reasons for this are not just a lack of intensive care beds. Rather, according to Lone, other parameters, but among them primarily health aspects, play a role. More frequent cardiovascular diseases, but also diabetes, respiratory diseases and an increased number of other concomitant diseases, are the main reasons why the risk of infection and death is so high in poorer areas. The statistics also take into account other parameters such as income, employment, education, qualifications, training, household size, infrastructure and crime. An index describes the extent of deprivation, i.e., the state of deprivation, deprivation, loss, and isolation, as well as the feeling of disadvantage divided into five equally sized groups of Intensive Covid Patients (quintiles) of different origins. The higher the index, the more deprived the group of people living in the area studied.
735 patients with covid-19 disease in intensive care units were the subjects. It was found that 24.9 percent were from the quintile with the highest deprivation index, while only 13.6 percent were from the quintile in the least deprived area. Tighter living conditions with little distance, fewer people in the home office from poorer areas where the population is mainly engaged in manual labor, and increased use of public transport are also aspects of why more people fall ill and die there. Poorer health status in terms of diabetes (15.3 versus 9 percent) and respiratory diseases (13.1 versus 4 percent) is also an exemplary reason for excess mortality. However, poorer health care and, according to the analysis, overburdened intensive care units are also suspected.
Source: aerzteblatt.de