Regional variation in COVID-19 positive hospitalisation across Scotland during the first wave of the pandemic and its relation to population density: A cross-sectional observation study
| Autor: | Chris Isles, Andrew Rideout, Calum Murray |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Viral Diseases European People Cross-sectional study Epidemiology Prevalence Scottish People Population density Geographical locations 0302 clinical medicine Medical Conditions Mathematical and Statistical Techniques Pandemic Medicine and Health Sciences Medicine Ethnicities 030212 general & internal medicine education.field_of_study Multidisciplinary Statistics Middle Aged Hospitals Europe Hospitalization Social deprivation Infectious Diseases Regional variation Physical Sciences Regression Analysis Female Research Article Adult Science Population British People Linear Regression Analysis Social class Research and Analysis Methods 03 medical and health sciences Population Metrics Humans European Union Statistical Methods education Pandemics Population Density Population Biology business.industry SARS-CoV-2 Biology and Life Sciences COVID-19 Covid 19 United Kingdom Health Care Cross-Sectional Studies Scotland Health Care Facilities Medical Risk Factors Population Groupings People and places business 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Mathematics Demography |
| Zdroj: | PLoS ONE PLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 7, p e0253636 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| Popis: | Background There have been large regional differences in COVID-19 virus activity across the UK with many commentators suggesting that these are related to age, ethnicity and social class. There has also been a focus on cases, hospitalisations and deaths rather than on hospitalisation rates expressed per 100,000 population. The purpose of our study was to examine regional variation in COVID-19 positive hospitalisation rates in Scotland during the first wave of the pandemic and the possibility that these might be related to population density. Methods and findings This was a repeated point prevalence study. The number of COVID-19 positive patients hospitalised in the eleven Scottish mainland health boards peaked at 1517 on 19th April, then fell to a low of 243 on 16th August before rising slightly to 262 on 15th September. In July, August and September only four boards had more than 5 hospitalised patients. There was a statistically significant relationship between hospitalisation rates and population density on 97.7% of individual days during the first wave of the pandemic (Pearson’s r 0.62–0.93, with 123 of a possible 174 days having p values Conclusion There were large differences in crude COVID-19 hospitalisation rates across the 11 mainland Scottish health boards, that were significantly related to population density. Given that lockdown was originally introduced to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed, we believe our results support a regional rather than a national approach to lifting or reimposing more restrictive measures, and that hospitalisation rates should be part of the decision making process. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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