Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina.
People living in rural regions in the United States face more health challenges than their non-rural counterparts which could put them at additional risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Few studies have examined if rurality is associated with additional mortality risk among those hospitalized for COV...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271755 |
| _version_ | 1797749099012816896 |
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| author | Sheri Denslow Jason R Wingert Amresh D Hanchate Aubri Rote Daniel Westreich Laura Sexton Kedai Cheng Janis Curtis William Schuyler Jones Amy Joy Lanou Jacqueline R Halladay |
| author_facet | Sheri Denslow Jason R Wingert Amresh D Hanchate Aubri Rote Daniel Westreich Laura Sexton Kedai Cheng Janis Curtis William Schuyler Jones Amy Joy Lanou Jacqueline R Halladay |
| author_sort | Sheri Denslow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | People living in rural regions in the United States face more health challenges than their non-rural counterparts which could put them at additional risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Few studies have examined if rurality is associated with additional mortality risk among those hospitalized for COVID-19. We studied a retrospective cohort of 3,991 people hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infections discharged between March 1 and September 30, 2020 in one of 17 hospitals in North Carolina that collaborate as a clinical data research network. Patient demographics, comorbidities, symptoms and laboratory data were examined. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations of rurality with a composite outcome of death/hospice discharge. Comorbidities were more common in the rural patient population as were the number of comorbidities per patient. Overall, 505 patients died prior to discharge and 63 patients were discharged to hospice. Among rural patients, 16.5% died or were discharged to hospice vs. 13.3% in the urban cohort resulting in greater odds of death/hospice discharge (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1, 1.6). This estimate decreased minimally when adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, payer, disease comorbidities, presenting oxygen levels and cytokine levels (adjusted model OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0, 1.5). This analysis demonstrated a higher COVID-19 mortality risk among rural residents of NC. Implementing policy changes may mitigate such disparities going forward. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:14:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4201902c2ef647f8bbe1510fb1b0a4eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:14:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-4201902c2ef647f8bbe1510fb1b0a4eb2023-08-09T05:31:43ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01178e027175510.1371/journal.pone.0271755Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina.Sheri DenslowJason R WingertAmresh D HanchateAubri RoteDaniel WestreichLaura SextonKedai ChengJanis CurtisWilliam Schuyler JonesAmy Joy LanouJacqueline R HalladayPeople living in rural regions in the United States face more health challenges than their non-rural counterparts which could put them at additional risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Few studies have examined if rurality is associated with additional mortality risk among those hospitalized for COVID-19. We studied a retrospective cohort of 3,991 people hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infections discharged between March 1 and September 30, 2020 in one of 17 hospitals in North Carolina that collaborate as a clinical data research network. Patient demographics, comorbidities, symptoms and laboratory data were examined. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations of rurality with a composite outcome of death/hospice discharge. Comorbidities were more common in the rural patient population as were the number of comorbidities per patient. Overall, 505 patients died prior to discharge and 63 patients were discharged to hospice. Among rural patients, 16.5% died or were discharged to hospice vs. 13.3% in the urban cohort resulting in greater odds of death/hospice discharge (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1, 1.6). This estimate decreased minimally when adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, payer, disease comorbidities, presenting oxygen levels and cytokine levels (adjusted model OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0, 1.5). This analysis demonstrated a higher COVID-19 mortality risk among rural residents of NC. Implementing policy changes may mitigate such disparities going forward.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271755 |
| spellingShingle | Sheri Denslow Jason R Wingert Amresh D Hanchate Aubri Rote Daniel Westreich Laura Sexton Kedai Cheng Janis Curtis William Schuyler Jones Amy Joy Lanou Jacqueline R Halladay Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina. PLoS ONE |
| title | Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina. |
| title_full | Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina. |
| title_fullStr | Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina. |
| title_short | Rural-urban outcome differences associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina. |
| title_sort | rural urban outcome differences associated with covid 19 hospitalizations in north carolina |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271755 |
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