1. Investigating COVID-19 transmission and mortality differences between indigenous and non-indigenous populations in Mexico.
- Author
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Dahal S, Mamelund SE, Luo R, Sattenspiel L, Self-Brown S, and Chowell G
- Subjects
- COVID-19 Vaccines, Humans, Mexico epidemiology, Pandemics, Risk Factors, COVID-19
- Abstract
Objectives: Indigenous populations have been disproportionately affected during pandemics. We investigated COVID-19 mortality estimates among indigenous and non-indigenous populations at national and sub-national levels in Mexico., Methods: We obtained data from the Ministry of Health, Mexico, on 2,173,036 laboratory-confirmed RT-PCR positive COVID-19 cases and 238,803 deaths. We estimated mortality per 1000 person-weeks, mortality rate ratio (RR) among indigenous vs. non-indigenous groups, and hazard ratio (HR) for COVID-19 deaths across four waves of the pandemic, from February 2020 to March 2022. We also assessed differences in the reproduction number (R
t )., Results: The mortality rate among indigenous populations of Mexico was 68% higher than that of non-indigenous groups. Out of 32 federal entities, 23 exhibited higher mortality rates among indigenous groups (P < 0.05 in 13 entities). The fourth wave showed the highest RR (2.40). The crude HR was 1.67 (95% CI: 1.62, 1.72), which decreased to 1.08 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.11) after controlling for other covariates. During the intense fourth wave, the Rt among the two groups was comparable., Conclusion: Indigenous status is a significant risk factor for COVID-19 mortality in Mexico. Our findings may reflect disparities in non-pharmaceutical (e.g., handwashing and using facemasks), and COVID-19 vaccination interventions among indigenous and non-indigenous populations in Mexico., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2022
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