背景:COVID-19死亡率在美国人口统计学分组中的发生率不平均,让一些社区比其他社区遭受更严重的打击。黑人和西班牙裔/拉丁裔老年人是受COVID-19死亡率影响最大的人群,反过来,新冠肺炎丧亲。因为COVID-19死亡率的差异可能会延伸到COVID-19丧亲,重要的是要了解在不同程度的关系亲密的老年人中COVID-19丧亲的发生率(例如,配偶vs.家庭成员vs.friend).
方法:我们使用国家社会健康和老龄化项目(NSHAP)COVID研究来评估美国老年人中社交网络成员因COVID-19而失去的差异,语言,和关系亲密关系。多元逻辑回归用于估计在一个人的社交网络中经历COVID-19死亡的可能性。
结果:没有说英语的人,非西班牙裔白人受访者报告说,COVID-19失去了家庭成员或配偶。说英语,非西班牙裔黑人和讲英语的人,在各种亲密关系下,西班牙裔老年人报告死亡的人数过多。然而,接近COVID-19的丧亲在任何种族的讲西班牙语的老年人中最普遍。虽然说西班牙语的人只占样本的4.8%,在因COVID-19失去配偶的受访者中,有一半是讲西班牙语的人。控制年龄后,语言和种族差异持续存在,性别,婚姻状况,和教育。
结论:已知的COVID-19死亡率差异扩展到老年人的COVID-19丧亲。因为丧亲影响健康,黑色,拉丁裔,和讲西班牙语的社区需要更多的保护和投资,以防止丧亲的差距加剧晚年身心健康的差距。
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 mortality occurred unevenly across U.S. demographic subgroups, leaving some communities harder hit than others. Black and Hispanic/Latino older adults are among those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 mortality, and in turn, COVID-19 bereavement. Because disparities in COVID-19 mortality may extend to COVID-19 bereavement, it is important to understand the incidence of COVID-19 bereavement among older adults at various degrees of relational closeness (e.g., spouse vs. household member vs. friend).
METHODS: We used the National Social Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) COVID Study to evaluate disparities in loss of a social network member to COVID-19 among U.S. older adults by race/ethnicity, language, and relational closeness. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of experiencing a COVID-19 death in one\'s social network.
RESULTS: None of the English-speaking, non-Hispanic White respondents reported the loss of a household member or spouse to COVID-19. English-speaking, non-Hispanic Black and English-speaking, Hispanic older adults were overrepresented in reporting a death at every degree of relational closeness. However, close COVID-19 bereavement was most prevalent among Spanish-speaking older adults of any race. Although Spanish speakers comprised only 4.8% of the sample, half of the respondents who lost a spouse to COVID-19 were Spanish speakers. Language and ethnoracial group disparities persisted after controlling for age, sex, marital status, and education.
CONCLUSIONS: Known ethnoracial disparities in COVID-19 mortality extend to COVID-19 bereavement among older adults. Because bereavement impacts health, Black, Latino, and Spanish-speaking communities need greater protection and investment to prevent disparities in bereavement from exacerbating disparities in later-life mental and physical health.