FOLLOW US FacebookTwitterFile:Instagram icon.png - Wikimedia CommonsLinkedin - Free social media icons

Health Inequalities and COVID-19 in NI

The Department of Health (DoH) in Northern Ireland have published a document, Coronavirus related health inequalities in Northern Ireland.   

What is the report about?

The report analysed infection rates and hospital admission rates for COVID-19. A number of factors were explored:

  • socio-economic deprivation;
  • age;
  • gender; and
  • whether people lived in rural, urban or mixed rural/urban areas.

The report did not explore variations in infection or admission rates of people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. It also did not include information about co-morbidities (people who had one or more conditions as well as COVID-19).

It discusses ’standardised’ rates – infection, admission and mortality – throughout. Standardisation makes adjustments to compensate for differences in population structure (such as age), so valid comparisons can be made between geographical areas.  Data was collected up to 9am on 26 May 2020. 

What were the differences in infection rates for age, area and sex?

The data for infection rates includes only those with a laboratory completed test that was positive for COVID-19. If people took multiple tests, only the first test was counted. The report points out that laboratory tests have only been carried out for a small proportion of the population in Northern Ireland, including frontline workers, and that this may impact the results.

  • AGE:  Age was the most important factor in infection rates. The infection rate for over 65s (598 cases per 100,000) was over three times higher than those 65 and under (192 per 100,000).
  • AREA:  Where people lived was a significant factor. The infection rate in urban areas (322 per 100,000) was nearly twice as high as people in rural areas (169 per 100,000), with an even higher rate for mixed rural/urban areas (398 per 100,000).
  • SEX:  Infection rates for females (308 per 100,000) were a third higher than males (234 per 100,000).
What were the differences in infection rates for deprivation?

Social and economic disadvantage in Northern Ireland is measured by a Multiple Deprivation Measure. This divides Northern Ireland up into small areas and assesses each area against seven criteria — income, employment, health and disability, education and skills, access to services, living environment, crime and disorder.

The DoH report divides deprivation into percentiles. It focuses on the 10% most deprived areas and the 10% least deprived areas. It compares these to the Northern Ireland average. For ease of understanding, this article will refer to the 10% most deprived areas simply as the 'most deprived areas' and the 10% least deprived areas as the 'least deprived areas'.

  • The infection rate in the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland (379 cases per 100,000) was nearly 40% higher than the Northern Ireland average rate (272 per 100,000).
  • Those in the least deprived areas also had a higher infection rate (317 per 100,000) than average.

There was a strong link between deprivation, older age and infection rates.

  • The infection rate of people over 65 who lived in the most deprived areas (1,027 per 100,000) was almost three quarters higher than the Northern Ireland average infection rate for over 65s (598 per 100,000).
  • The least deprived areas had the second highest infection rate for over 65s (750 per 100,000).
  • The report notes that both the most and least deprived areas are predominantly urban, and that this may be a factor in their higher infection rates.
Hospital admissions for confirmed COVID-19 cases

In total, 27% of people who tested positive for COVID-19 were admitted to hospital.

  • AGE:  Age was by far the largest predictor of hospitalisation for those with positive tests. 69% of those aged 65 and over who tested positive for COVID-19 were admitted to hospital. This compares with 4% of those aged 0-24, and 16% of those aged 25-64.
  • AREA:  People who tested positive living in urban areas were slightly more likely to be admitted to hospital (26%) than people living in rural (21%) and mixed rural/urban (22%) areas.
  • SEX:  Males who tested positive were twice as likely (39%) to be admitted to hospital as females (19%).
  • DEPRIVATION:  30% of people who tested positive in the most deprived areas were admitted to hospital, compared to 22% of those in the least deprived areas.
     
Hospital admissions for confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases

The DoH report also gives a breakdown for all hospital admissions, including those admitted for confirmed or suspected COVID-19. The following findings are for both confirmed and suspected cases.

The hospital admission rate in Northern Ireland was 429 admissions per 100,000 population

  • AGE:  Older people were at greatest risk of hospitalisation. The admission rate for people aged 75 and over (2,255 per 100,000) was nine times that of the under 75 population (249 admissions per 100,000).
  • AREA:  The admission rate for mixed rural/urban areas (750 per 100,000) was more thant twice that of rural areas (336 per 100,000). The rate for urban areas (460 per 100,000) was just above the Northern Ireland average.
  • SEX:  The rate of admission of males (494 per 100,000) was 29% higher than females (383 per 100,000).
  • DEPRIVATION:  The admission rate in the most deprived areas (581 per 100,000) was almost double the rate of the least deprived areas (317 per 100,000), and well below the Northern Ireland average.
Deprivation, age and hospitalisation admissions

Age has the greatest effect on hospital admission rates, but deprivation also counts.

OVER 75s AND DEPRIVATION:

  • The rate of hospital admission of people aged 75 and over who lived in the most deprived areas (2,728 admissions per 100,000) was just over a third higher than that for the 75 and over population living in the least deprived areas (2,002 per 100,000).

UNDER 75s AND DEPRIVATION: 

  • While the hospital admission rate of under 75s was a ninth of the rate for 75 and over, the impact of deprivation was stronger for the younger group.
  • The admission rate for people under 75 in the most deprived areas (369 per 100,000) was more than double than the least deprived areas (150 per 100,000).
Do death rates from COVID-19 differ in areas of deprivation?

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) published data on recorded COVID-19 related deaths in Northern Ireland between 1 March - 31 May 2020. This includes those who had COVID-19 mentioned on their death certificates between these dates.

NISRA compares the 20% most deprived areas with the 20% least deprived areas.

  • People in the 20% most deprived areas had the highest death rate, at 60.5 deaths per 100,000 population.
  • In comparison, people in the 20% least deprived areas had a death rate of 49.1 deaths per 100,000, which was just marginally above average.

Further analysis of inequality and COVID-19 and inequality is underway at NISRA. We will update this article when this data becomes available.

For further information, read  Deep dive into the data.