Increased mortality in socioeconomic disadvantaged municipalities during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lombardy region

TL;DR

The study found that socioeconomic disparities in mortality increased during the first phase of the pandemic in Lombardy but returned to pre-pandemic levels as the health system improved and vaccines became available.

Contribution

The study provides evidence on how socioeconomic disparities in mortality changed over different phases of the pandemic in Lombardy.

Findings

The ASMR ratio between the poorest and wealthiest municipalities increased to 1.49 in March 2020.

Disparities returned to pre-pandemic levels after the health system reorganized and vaccines became available.

A similar pattern was observed in mortality for individuals aged 65 and older.

Abstract

Lombardy was the first European region most severely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the spring of 2020. During that period, a substantial increase in socioeconomic inequality in total mortality was observed. This study aims to evaluate mortality data in the region up to September 2023 to verify whether the increased disparities between the poorest and the wealthiest municipalities persisted in the subsequent phases of the pandemic.

This study analyzed mortality data from January 2019 to September 2023 in Lombardy's municipalities by month and pandemic phases characterized by the predominance of the different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants. Municipalities were grouped according to the average income or pension of their residents. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) and the ASMR ratio between the poorest and the wealthiest municipalities were compared throughout the study period.

In the pre-pandemic period (January 2019 - February 2020), the ASMR ratio at all ages between the poorest and the wealthiest municipalities fluctuated between 1.12 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07–1.16] and 1.29 (95% CI: 1.25–1.34). In March 2020, the ASMR ratio increased to 1.49 (95% CI: 1.45–1.52 95%) and returned to values registered before the pandemic thereafter. A similar pattern was observed in the analysis of mortality ≥ 65, using the average pension for group municipalities.

During the dramatic circumstances that the region faced in March 2020, pre-existing socioeconomic inequalities substantially widened. With the reorganization of the health system and the availability of vaccines, these disparities returned to the levels recorded before the pandemic.

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