The impact of socioeconomic status on 30-day mortality in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 infection

Abstract Socioeconomic status (SES) impacts outcome in number of diseases Our aim was to compare the outcome of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in low and high SES group Prospective cohort study of hospitalised patients with confirmed COVID-19 in three acute hospitals Electronic case notes were analysed for baseline characteristics and admission investigations Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) was used to divide patients into two groups: more deprived (SIMD 1?5) and less deprived (SIMD 6?10) and results compared Poor outcome was defined as either need for intubation and/or death 173 patients were identified, one was excluded 108 (62 8%) were males, mean age was 68 5 ± 14 7 years Commonest comorbidity was hypertension 87 (50 6%) 117 (68 0%) patients were in more deprived group Baseline characteristics, admission blood profile and reason for admission were evenly matched in both groups Outcomes were comparable in both groups: transfer to critical care (27 4% vs 27 3%, p 0 991), intubation (18 8% vs 20 2%, p 0 853), 30-day all-cause mortality (19 7% vs 14 5%, p 0 416) and overall poor outcome (30 8% vs 30 9%, p 0 985) Median time to discharge was 7 days longer (17 vs 10 days, p=0 018) and median time to death was 4 5 days longer in more deprived group (17 vs 12 5 days, p=0 388) Contrary to recent literature on COVID-19 in other geographical areas, our study suggests that the SES does not have any impact on outcome of hospitalised COVID-19 patients, however it negatively impacts length of stay This article is protected by copyright All rights reserved