{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Social determinants of ethnic disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection: UK Biobank SARS-CoV-2 Serology Study.
{Author}: Omiyale W;Holliday J;Doherty N;Callen H;Wood N;Horn E;Burnett F;Young A;Lewington S;Fry D;Bešević J;Conroy M;Sheard S;Feng Q;Welsh S;Effingham M;Young A;Collins R;Lacey B;Allen N;
{Journal}: J Epidemiol Community Health
{Volume}: 78
{Issue}: 1
{Year}: 2023 12 8
{Factor}: 6.286
{DOI}: 10.1136/jech-2023-220353
{Abstract}: The social determinants of ethnic disparities in risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first wave of the pandemic in the UK remain unclear.<BR>In May 2020, a total of 20 195 adults were recruited from the general population into the UK Biobank SARS-CoV-2 Serology Study. Between mid-May and mid-November 2020, participants provided monthly blood samples. At the end of the study, participants completed a questionnaire on social factors during different periods of the pandemic. Logistic regression yielded ORs for the association between ethnicity and SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G antibodies (indicating prior infection) using blood samples collected in July 2020, immediately after the first wave.<BR>After exclusions, 14 571 participants (mean age 56; 58% women) returned a blood sample in July, of whom 997 (7%) had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Seropositivity was strongly related to ethnicity: compared with those of White ethnicity, ORs (adjusted for age and sex) for Black, South Asian, Chinese, Mixed and Other ethnic groups were 2.66 (95% CI 1.94-3.60), 1.66 (1.15-2.34), 0.99 (0.42-1.99), 1.42 (1.03-1.91) and 1.79 (1.27-2.47), respectively. Additional adjustment for social factors reduced the overall likelihood ratio statistics for ethnicity by two-thirds (67%; mostly from occupational factors and UK region of residence); more precise measurement of social factors may have further reduced the association.<BR>This study identifies social factors that are likely to account for much of the ethnic disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first wave in the UK, and highlights the particular relevance of occupation and residential region in the pathway between ethnicity and SARS-CoV-2 infection.