Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Jessica H. Beard, Sara F. Jacoby, Zoe Maher, Beidi Dong, Elinore J. Kaufman, Amy J. Goldberg, Christopher N. Morrison
Summary: This study utilizes police department registry data to examine the trends in incidence of firearm shootings and deaths from January to November 2020, both before and after the closure of nonessential businesses in March, the killing of George Floyd in May, and the partial lifting of containment policies in June.
JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari, Mariam Ali AbdulMalik, Asma Ali Al-Nuaimi, Jazeel Abdulmajeed, Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi, Sandy Semaan, Mujeeb Kandy
Summary: The study shows that COVID-19 infections are prevalent among healthcare workers in Qatar, particularly among outsourced non-clinical positions. Factors influencing infection rates may include environmental factors and compliance with preventative measures.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Health Policy & Services
Ziona Haklai, Miriam Aburbeh, Nehama Goldberger, Ethel-Sherry Gordon
Summary: The study in Israel found that the overall mortality rate in 2020 was 6% higher than the average from 2017-2019, with significant increases among the Arab population. Excess mortality was most pronounced in the older age groups, particularly in the months of August to October.
ISRAEL JOURNAL OF HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Virology
Joshua G. Petrie, Marisa C. Eisenberg, Adam S. Lauring, Julie Gilbert, Samantha M. Harrison, Peter M. DeJonge, Emily T. Martin
Summary: This study aims to estimate the cases, hospitalizations, and deaths of SARS-CoV-2 in Michigan, finding varying levels of under-detection of infection by age and time. The results highlight the continued risk of high incidence despite prior infection and vaccination, emphasizing the need for long-term planning.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Livvy Shafer, Faruque Ahmed, Sara Kim, Karen J. Wernli, Michael L. Jackson, Mary Patricia Nowalk, Todd Bear, Richard K. Zimmerman, Emily T. Martin, Arnold S. Monto, Manjusha Gaglani, Michael Reis, Jessie R. Chung, Brendan Flannery, Amra Uzicanin
Summary: A study conducted in the United States found that adults with telework experience were more likely to continue working (onsite or remotely) during illness compared to those without telework experience. COVID-19 case-patients were less likely to work onsite compared to individuals with other acute respiratory illnesses. COVID-19 case-patients with previous telework experience provided recommendations for mildly ill workers to stay home during illness.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Cyrus M. Kosar, Elizabeth M. White, Richard A. Feifer, Carolyn Blackman, Stefan Gravenstein, Orestis A. Panagiotou, Kevin McConeghy, Vincent Mor
Summary: The study on 12,271 nursing home residents with COVID-19 from March to November 2020 found a significant decline in 30-day mortality rates from 20.9% in early April to 11.2% in early November, indicating improved outcomes across various groups of residents. Possible factors contributing to this decline include enhanced clinical management, better supply and use of personal protective equipment, and genetic changes in the virus.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Meredith S. Shiels, Anika T. Haque, Emily A. Haozous, Paul S. Albert, Jonas S. Almeida, Montserrat Garcia-Closas, Anna M. Napoles, Eliseo J. Perez-Stable, Neal D. Freedman, Amy Berrington de Gonzalez
Summary: In 2020, there were significant racial/ethnic disparities in excess deaths in the United States, with Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Latino individuals experiencing a disproportionate impact even beyond COVID-19. The excess deaths in 2020 resulted in a substantial widening of racial/ethnic disparities in all-cause mortality from 2019 to 2020.
ANNALS OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Ergonomics
Hope Tiesman, Suzanne Marsh, Srinivas Konda, Suzanne Tomasi, Douglas Wiegand, Thomas Hales, Sydney Webb
Summary: This study analyzed online media reports to identify and describe the characteristics of workplace violence events (WVEs) related to COVID-19 in the United States. The findings showed that most WVEs occurred in retail and dining establishments and were perpetrated by customers or clients. Mask disputes were the main trigger for violence.
JOURNAL OF SAFETY RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Steven G. Wesnousky
Summary: The seismic characteristics of the earthquakes in March, with aftershocks confined to depths of less than 15 km and with exponential decay in the days following the mainshock, provide insights into tectonic activity in the region. Each earthquake brought new understanding of faulting patterns and geological processes, contributing to the overall seismic understanding of the area.
SEISMOLOGICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Kyle T. Aune, Kyra H. Grantz, Neia Prata Menezes, Katherine O. Robsky, Emily S. Gurley, Melissa A. Marx, Darcy F. Phelan-Emrick
Summary: This study analyzed death certificate data from Baltimore City from March 2020 to March 2021 and found a substantial and unequal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the residents. The mortality rate was higher than expected among individuals aged 50 and older, and non-White residents experienced higher rates of excess mortality compared to White residents. Significant geographic variation in excess mortality was also observed, largely following racial population distributions.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Devan Hawkins, Letitia Davis, David Kriebel
Summary: The study found that certain occupational groups in Massachusetts have higher mortality rates due to COVID-19, including healthcare support and transportation workers. Hispanic and Black workers have mortality rates more than four times higher than White workers overall, and they also have higher rates within high-risk occupation groups.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eugenio Paglino, Dielle J. Lundberg, Zhenwei Zhou, Joe A. Wasserman, Rafeya Raquib, Anneliese N. Luck, Katherine Hempstead, Jacob Bor, Samuel H. Preston, Irma T. Elo, Andrew C. Stokes
Summary: Excess mortality, a measure of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact, refers to the difference between expected and observed mortality in a specific period. To understand the most affected areas, factors contributing to the impact, and guide response efforts, it is crucial to estimate excess mortality with spatial and temporal granularity. Using a Bayesian hierarchical model trained on data from 2015 to 2019, we estimated all-cause excess mortality by county and month in the United States from March 2020 to February 2022. The results show a total of 1,179,024 excess deaths occurred during the first two years of the pandemic (634,830 in the first year and 544,194 in the second year). Excess mortality decreased in large metropolitan counties but increased in nonmetropolitan counties. Interestingly, nonmetropolitan Southern counties had the highest cumulative relative excess mortality by July 2021 despite the initial concentration of deaths in large metropolitan Northeastern counties. These findings emphasize the importance of investing in rural health as the rural impact of the pandemic grows.
Article
Pediatrics
Christopher B. Forrest, Evanette K. Burrows, Asuncion Mejias, Hanieh Razzaghi, Dimitri Christakis, Ravi Jhaveri, Grace M. Lee, Nathan M. Pajor, Suchitra Rao, Deepika Thacker, L. Charles Bailey
Summary: Although there is a risk of moderate to severe illness among children infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the risk of severe disease did not change with the emergence of the Delta variant, despite its high transmissibility.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Martin Rypdal, Kristoffer Rypdal, Ola Lovsletten, Sigrunn Holbek Sorbye, Elinor Ytterstad, Filippo Maria Bianchi
Summary: Through studying mortality rates in Norway and Sweden, we have estimated the excess mortality rates during the COVID-19 epidemic, years of life lost (YLL) due to COVID-19 in Sweden, and the impact of mortality displacement. The results show a good agreement between COVID-19 related deaths and all-cause excess deaths in both countries during the epidemic period, with no significant mortality displacement explaining those deaths.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Andrei R. Akhmetzhanov
Summary: The study found variations in reporting delays and all-cause excess deaths across different jurisdictions in the US, highlighting the need for caution when interpreting data.
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Forrest Stuart, Alicia Riley, Hossein Pourreza
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Alicia R. Riley, Daniel Collin, Jacob M. Grumbach, Jacqueline M. Torres, Rita Hamad
Summary: The extreme right-left partisanship in the current US context affects state policies, with left-leaning state policy orientation being associated with lower odds of adverse birth outcomes, especially for infants born in the US and White mothers. However, the association between left-leaning state policy orientation and lower odds of adverse birth outcomes may be explained by stable characteristics of states.
JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Jana Macken, Alicia R. Riley, Maria M. Glymour, James Raymo
Summary: Retirement is associated with accelerated memory decline, with significant differences observed between countries. Memory decline postretirement is faster in Southern and Eastern European countries due to less generous welfare systems and comparatively low pension benefits.
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ellicott C. Matthay, Kate A. Duchowny, Alicia R. Riley, Sandro Galea
Summary: This study estimated the excess deaths potentially associated with COVID-19-related unemployment in the United States and found inequities in these estimates by age, race/ethnicity, gender, and education. The results suggest that supportive economic policies and interventions addressing long-standing harmful social structures are essential to mitigate the unequal health harms of COVID-19.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Audrey R. Murchland, A. Zeki Al Hazzouri, Lanyu Zhang, Tali Elfassy, Leslie Grasset, Alicia R. Riley, Rebeca Wong, Mary N. Haan, Richard N. Jones, Jacqueline M. Torres, M. Maria Glymour
Summary: The study found that migrating from Mexico to the U.S. was unrelated to depressive symptoms, regardless of gender and whether migration occurred in childhood, early adulthood, or later adulthood.
ANNALS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2021)
Book Review
Sociology
Alicia R. Riley
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Alicia R. Riley, Yea-Hung Chen, Ellicott C. Matthay, M. Maria Glymour, Jacqueline M. Torres, Alicia Fernandez, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo
Summary: A study found that Latino people in California experienced higher excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those born in Mexico or Central American countries, with lower educational attainment, and working in food/agriculture or manufacturing. Immigrant disadvantages in excess death were magnified among working-age Latinos in essential occupations. Interventions to reduce these inequities should include targeted vaccination, workplace safety enforcement, and expanded access to medical care and economic support.
SSM-POPULATION HEALTH
(2021)
Editorial Material
Health Care Sciences & Services
Alicia R. Riley, Mathew V. Kiang, Yea-Hung Chen, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, M. Maria Glymour
JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Alicia R. Riley, Linda J. Waite, Kathleen A. Cagney
Summary: This study aimed to describe interviewer-assessed measures in the 2015/2016 NSHAP, highlight their strengths, and explore their association with older adult health, using data from the survey. The results provided descriptive insights into personal attributes, indoor home environment, and outdoor residential context assessed by interviewers. The discussion emphasized the usefulness of interviewer assessments as proxy measures in understanding healthy aging when combined with respondent reports and ecological measures.
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, Mathew Kiang, Alicia R. Riley, Magali Barbieri, Yea-Hung Chen, Kate A. Duchowny, Ellicott C. Matthay, David Van Riper, Kirrthana Jegathesan, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Jonathon P. Leider
Summary: A study found that COVID vaccination schedules based solely on age benefit older white populations but come at the expense of younger BIPOC populations with higher risk. Prioritizing high-risk geographic areas for vaccination targets mortality risk better, while direct prioritization of high-risk racial/ethnic groups may perform even better. Vaccination strategies directly impact equitable access, both domestically and globally.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Haena Lee, Theresa Andrasfay, Alicia Riley, Qiao Wu, Eileen Crimmins
Summary: Racial/ethnic minorities have higher rates of COVID-19 infection compared to whites, and this may be influenced by individual housing, occupational, behavioral, and socioeconomic conditions. Social factors such as educational attainment, economic resources, work arrangements, household size, and social distancing may be structured by racism. Hispanic individuals have a 48% higher risk of COVID-19 infection compared to whites, even after adjusting for age, sex, local infection rate, and comorbidities. Other social determinants such as lower educational attainment, working away from home, and larger household size independently predict higher risk of COVID-19, but do not explain why Hispanic Americans have a higher infection risk than whites.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Development Studies
Jennifer Candipan, Alicia R. Riley, Janeria A. Easley
Summary: Gentrification is associated with both positive and negative effects on neighborhood health, with the impact depending on factors such as neighborhood composition, type of sociodemographic change, specific health outcomes, and spatial spillover. The study found that the sociodemographic changes occurring in gentrifying neighborhoods generally correspond with decreases in health risk behaviors and negative health outcomes.
HOUSING POLICY DEBATE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yea-Hung Chen, Andrew C. Stokes, Helene E. Aschmann, Ruijia Chen, Shelley DeVost, Mathew V. Kiang, Suneil Koliwad, Alicia R. Riley, M. Maria Glymour, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo
Summary: Excess mortality during the pandemic has surpassed the reported deaths from Covid-19, indicating potential undercounting of Covid-19 deaths. The study found that a significant number of excess natural-cause deaths occurred outside the hospital and were not attributed to Covid-19. The temporal association between Covid-19 deaths and excess out-of-hospital deaths suggests that Covid-19 deaths may have been underestimated in the first year of the pandemic.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Alicia R. Riley
SSM-POPULATION HEALTH
(2020)