Spatiotemporal variations in COVID-19 mortality during the four waves of spread in Argentina, 2020-2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.rfnsp.e357084Keywords:
spatiotemporal analysis, spatiotemporal clustering, COVID-19, socioeconomic factors, mortality, epidemiological surveillanceAbstract
Objective: To analyze the emergence of spatiotemporal clusters of COVID-19 mortality, during the four waves of spread in Argentina, between 2020 and 2022, characterizing them by their level of population density and socioeconomic level.
Methods: Retrospective ecological study design applied to deaths from COVID-19, in populations under 60 years of age and 60 years of age or older, occurring in Argentina from 2020 to 2022. The spatial units (n = 527) were departments or similar areas. The spatiotemporal permutation scanning technique was used to detect high and low mortality clusters. These were compared with each other in terms of population density level and socioeconomic level.
Results: In the population under 60 years of age, there was hierarchical diffusion, affecting Greater Buenos Aires, in the first wave, while, in the third, high mortality clusters tended to be located in areas of low socioeconomic level. In the population aged 60 or older, there were hierarchical mortality diffusions in the first, third and fourth waves. With the exception of the second and third waves, high mortality clusters tended to be located in areas of high socioeconomic level, compared to low mortality clusters
Conclusion: Although Greater Buenos Aires-La Plata —the most populated area in the country— was the hardest hit in terms of mortality in both the first and third waves, the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the clusters detected in the four waves suggests the reinforcement of the geographical representativeness of virological and epidemiological surveillance in the Argentine territory.
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