A STUDY has found that people living in Scotland’s porrest areas are more likely to be affected by severe Covid-19 and die from the disease.
The nationwide study was the first of its kind and found that those in less affluent areas had a higher chance of being admitted to hospital.
The researchers who conducted the study now say that the study highlights the need for extra support to be given to critical care units in poorer areas.
Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow gauged how living in an area of socioeconomic poverty, measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, was linked to severe Covid-19 using anonymous health records.
The study is published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health – Europe and was carried out in collaboration with the Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group.
Hospital data was used to assess the impact of the pandemic on critical care units at all of Scotland’s hospitals.
They found that 735 patients with Covid-19 were admitted to critical care units across Scotland between March and June 2020.
Of those, around one quarter of admissions were from the most deprived quintile compared with 13 per cent from the least deprived quintile.
Lead researcher Dr Nazir Lone, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Critical Care at the University of Edinburgh and Honorary Consultant in Critical Care at NHS Lothian, said, “A number of factors could be driving this link between poverty and severe disease, including poor housing, increased use of public transport and financial pressures to continue working.
“The most deprived communities, and the hospitals that serve them, will need extra support as the pandemic continues.”
Death rates after 30 days were significantly higher in patients from the most deprived places in Scotland compared with the least deprived, after accounting for other factors such as age and sex.
Hospitals in the most deprived health board areas were also more likely to have higher peak in demand for intensive care beds, and to be operating over their normal capacity for longer.
Doctors say that the findings highlight the need for greater resources in these areas to tackle coronavirus.
Dr Joanne McPeake, co-author of the study from the University of Glasgow, said: “While we move through this pandemic, it is increasingly important to understand how this virus affects different groups in order for informed decisions to be taken on mitigating risks.
“This data will help inform how we support different communities in both the short and long-term, in order to adequately ensure that socioeconomic inequalities are not exacerbated further.”
