| Summary: | <h4>Background</h4>The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic compounds Mexico's pre-existing challenges: very high levels of both non-communicable diseases (NCD) and social inequity.<h4>Methods and findings</h4>Using data from national reporting of SARS-CoV-2 tested individuals, we estimated odds of hospitalization, intubation, and death based on pre-existing non-communicable diseases and socioeconomic indicators. We found that obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are positively associated with the three outcomes in a synergistic manner. The municipal poverty level is also positively associated with hospitalization and death.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Mexico's response to COVID-19 is complicated by a synergistic double challenge: raging NCDs and extreme social inequity. The response to the current pandemic must take both into account both to be effective and to ensure that the burden of COVID-19 not falls disproportionately on those who are already disadvantaged.
|
|---|