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Differences in the Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Access to Care between Italians and Non-Italians in a Social-Housing Neighbourhood of Milan, Italy

The northern Italian region of Lombardy has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since its arrival in Europe. However, there are only a few published studies of the possible influence of social and cultural factors on its prevalence in the general population. This cross-sectional study of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Pagani, Gabriele, Conti, Federico, Giacomelli, Andrea, Oreni, Letizia, Beltrami, Martina, Pezzati, Laura, Casalini, Giacomo, Rondanin, Rossana, Prina, Andrea, Zagari, Antonino, Rusconi, Stefano, Galli, Massimo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8535198/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34682369
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010621
Descripción
Sumario:The northern Italian region of Lombardy has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since its arrival in Europe. However, there are only a few published studies of the possible influence of social and cultural factors on its prevalence in the general population. This cross-sectional study of the San Siro social-housing neighbourhood of Milan, which was carried about between 23 December 2020 and 19 February 2021, found that the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies in the population as a whole was 12.4% (253/2044 inhabitants), but there was a more than two-fold difference between non-Italians and Italians (23.3% vs. 9.1%). Multivariable analyses showed that being more than 50 years old, living in crowded accommodation, being a non-Italian, and having a low educational level were associated with higher odds of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, whereas a higher level of education, retirement, and being a former or current cigarette smoker were inversely associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our findings are in line with previous observations indicating that a lower socio-economic status may be a risk factor for COVID-19 and show that non-Italians are disproportionately affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection. This suggests that public health policies should focus more on disadvantaged populations.