Covid-19 infection and mortality among non-pregnant indigenous adults in Mexico 2020-2022

Impact of marginalisation

Bibliographic Data

ID19552222
AuthorsBertis B Little (0000-0002-6485-4641, University of Louisville), Bert B Little, Shaminul Shakib (University of Louisville), Maria Eugenia Peña Reyes (National Institute of Anthropology and History), Seyed Karimi, Seyed M Karimi (0000-0002-3796-8141, University of Louisville), Giang T Vu (0000-0003-1159-6973, University of Central Florida), Natalie Dupré (0000-0003-4587-0467, University of Louisville), W Paul Mckinney (0000-0003-1757-8100, University of Louisville), Riten Mitra (0000-0002-2337-0237, University of Louisville)
Year2023
Volume13
Pages06030-06030
Publication date2023-07-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Global Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2047-2978 • E-ISSN: 2047-2986
PublisherInternational Society of Global Health (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.7189/jogh.13.06030
PMID37506193
OpenAlexW4385334823
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited61

Background: Indigenous individuals have higher rates of mortality and poverty in Mexico and more than half are marginalised, and COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the existing burden of health disparities. We aimed to analyse the effects of being indigenous and marginalised on coronavirus (COVID-19) infection fatality in Mexico. Methods: We identified 3 424 690 non-pregnant, COVID-19 positive adults ≥19 years in the Mexico national COVID-19 database with known date of symptom. We used demographic information, indigenous status, marginalisation status, and co-morbidities in binary logistic regression to predict mortality, adjusting for covariates, including hospitalisation, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and mechanical ventilation use. We also assessed the interaction between indigenous status and marginalisation. Results: Marginalisation was much higher among indigenous (53.7%) compared to non-indigenous individuals (4.8%). COVID-19 fatalities were approximately 20 years older (64.4 and 63.0 years) than survivors (44.7 and 41.2 years) among indigenous vs non-indigenous individuals, respectively. The unadjusted risk of COVID-19 fatality among indigenous individuals was nearly two-fold (odds ratio (OR) = 1.92)) compared to non-indigenous individuals (OR = 1.05). COVID-19 fatality was higher among highly marginalised individuals (upper quartile) (OR = 1.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.49-1.54). Marginalised indigenous individuals had a significantly lower likelihood of ICU admission compared to non-indigenous non-marginalised individuals. The likelihood of mechanical ventilation for indigenous individuals was 4% higher compared to non-indigenous individuals. Indigenous marginalised individuals had a significantly lower probability of mechanical ventilation compared to non-indigenous non-marginalised individuals. COVID-19 comorbidity risks of fatality significantly differed between the two groups in the Cox survival analysis. In the fully adjusted model, indigenous individuals were 4% more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to non-indigenous. Conclusions: Indigenous, marginalised individuals with COVID-19 had higher risk of hospitalisation and ICU admission than non-indigenous patients. Marginalised, indigenous individuals were less likely to receive mechanical ventilation compared to non-indigenous, but had a higher risk of COVID-19. Indigenous individuals had a 4% higher COVID-19 mortality risk COVID-19 compared to non-indigenous individuals. Improved community medical care and augmented health services in rural hospitals could mitigate barriers to health care access in indigenous, marginalised populations

Biology · Case fatality rate · Confidence interval · Indigenous · Logistic regression · Odds ratio · Political science · Poverty · Sociology · COVID-19 Impact on Reproduction · Demography · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Epidemiology · Internal Medicine

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