TY - JOUR
T1 - Are Older Populations at a Disadvantage? County-Level Analysis of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in Urban and Rural America
AU - Choi, Seung Won Emily
AU - Yang, Tse Chuan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
PY - 2021/3/1
Y1 - 2021/3/1
N2 - Objectives: This study examines how areas with different older population compositions are affected by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and whether urban and rural counties face different challenges. Methods: Applying negative binomial regression to a data set of U.S. counties (N = 3,042), we estimated the relationship between older population ratios and the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and how this relationship changes over time in urban and rural counties, respectively. Results: Although low-ratio counties show the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic, confirmed cases in high-ratio counties (>25% of the total population is aged 65 and older) increase exponentially with time in urban areas. High-ratio rural counties hit their peak later and recover more slowly compared to low- and medium-ratio rural counties. Discussion: Both urban and rural counties with larger older populations are more vulnerable and their disadvantages in COVID-19 infections are more rapidly exacerbated over time in urban areas. This underscores the importance of early action in those counties for effective intervention and prevention.
AB - Objectives: This study examines how areas with different older population compositions are affected by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and whether urban and rural counties face different challenges. Methods: Applying negative binomial regression to a data set of U.S. counties (N = 3,042), we estimated the relationship between older population ratios and the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, and how this relationship changes over time in urban and rural counties, respectively. Results: Although low-ratio counties show the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic, confirmed cases in high-ratio counties (>25% of the total population is aged 65 and older) increase exponentially with time in urban areas. High-ratio rural counties hit their peak later and recover more slowly compared to low- and medium-ratio rural counties. Discussion: Both urban and rural counties with larger older populations are more vulnerable and their disadvantages in COVID-19 infections are more rapidly exacerbated over time in urban areas. This underscores the importance of early action in those counties for effective intervention and prevention.
KW - Aging
KW - Coronavirus
KW - Pandemic
KW - Urban-rural variations
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U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gbaa182
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gbaa182
M3 - Article
C2 - 33103717
AN - SCOPUS:85102211933
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 76
SP - E93-E98
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 3
ER -