Association between socioeconomic status and self-reported, tested and diagnosed COVID-19 status during the first wave in the Northern Netherlands: a general population-based cohort from 49 474 adults
Jochen Mierau,
Pauline Lanting,
Patrick Deelen,
Robert Warmerdam,
Floranne Boulogne,
Annique Claringbould,
Lude Franke,
Yinjie Zhu,
Ming-Jie Duan,
Hermien H. Dijk,
Roel D. Freriks,
Louise H. Dekker,
Jochen O. Mierau,
Marike Boezen,
Jackie Dekens,
Judith Vonk,
Ilja Nolte,
Anil Ori,
Marjolein Dijkema,
Henry Wiersma,
Soesma Medema Jankipersadsing
Affiliations
Jochen Mierau
13 Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Pauline Lanting
1 Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Patrick Deelen
1 Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Robert Warmerdam
1 Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Floranne Boulogne
1 Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Annique Claringbould
1 Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Lude Franke
1 Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Yinjie Zhu
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Ming-Jie Duan
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Hermien H. Dijk
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Roel D. Freriks
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Louise H. Dekker
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Jochen O. Mierau
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Objectives Studies in clinical settings showed a potential relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and lifestyle factors with COVID-19, but it is still unknown whether this holds in the general population. In this study, we investigated the associations of SES with self-reported, tested and diagnosed COVID-19 status in the general population.Design, setting, participants and outcome measures Participants were 49 474 men and women (46±12 years) residing in the Northern Netherlands from the Lifelines cohort study. SES indicators and lifestyle factors (i.e., smoking status, physical activity, alcohol intake, diet quality, sleep time and TV watching time) were assessed by questionnaire from the Lifelines Biobank. Self-reported, tested and diagnosed COVID-19 status was obtained from the Lifelines COVID-19 questionnaire.Results There were 4711 participants who self-reported having had a COVID-19 infection, 2883 participants tested for COVID-19, and 123 positive cases were diagnosed in this study population. After adjustment for age, sex, lifestyle factors, body mass index and ethnicity, we found that participants with low education or low income were less likely to self-report a COVID-19 infection (OR [95% CI]: low education 0.78 [0.71 to 0.86]; low income 0.86 [0.79 to 0.93]) and be tested for COVID-19 (OR [95% CI]: low education 0.58 [0.52 to 0.66]; low income 0.86 [0.78 to 0.95]) compared with high education or high income groups, respectively.Conclusion Our findings suggest that the low SES group was the most vulnerable population to self-reported and tested COVID-19 status in the general population.
