Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19 infections among working-age women with precancerous cervical lesion in Louisiana: analysis of more than two years of COVID-19 data

Authors

• Mei-Chin Hsieh, LSU Health Sciences Center - New OrleansFollow
• Christina Lefante, LSU Health Sciences Center - New OrleansFollow
• Susanne Straif-Bourgeois, LSU Health Sciences Center - New OrleansFollow
• Yong Yi, LSU Health Sciences Center - New OrleansFollow
• Natalie Gomez, LSU Health Sciences Center - New OrleansFollow
• Pratibha Shrestha, LSU Health Sciences Center - New OrleansFollow
• Vivien W. Chen, LSU Health Sciences Center - New OrleansFollow
• Xiao-Cheng Wu, LSU Health Sciences Center - New OrleansFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-5-2023

Publication Title

Frontiers of Epidemiology

Abstract

Background: Precancerous cervical lesion (PCL) is common in working-age and minority women. In Louisiana, 98% of PCL cases were diagnosed at age 18-65 with over 90% of them being human papillomavirus (HPV)-related. PCL women represent those who may be immunocompromised from the precancerous condition and thus more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2. Most studies evaluating racial disparities for COVID-19 infection have only used data prior to vaccine availability. This study assessed disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) in COVID-19 infections among working-age PCL women for pre- and post-COVID-19 vaccine availability. Methods: Louisiana women aged 18-65 with PCL diagnosed in 2009-2021 were linked with the Louisiana statewide COVID-19 database to identify those with positive COVID-19 test. Race/ethnicity was categorized as non-Hispanic white (NHW), non-Hispanic black (NHB), Hispanic, and others. The census tract SES quintiles were created based on American Community Survey estimates. Logistic regression was employed to assess the racial/ethnic and SES differences in COVID-19 infections. Results: Of 14,669 eligible PCL women, 30% were tested COVID-19 positive. NHB had the highest percentage of COVID-19 infection (34.6%), followed by NHW (27.7%). The infection percentage was inversely proportional to SES, with 32.9% for women having the lowest SES and 26.8% for those with the highest SES. NHB women and those with lower SES had higher COVID-19 infection than their counterparts with an aOR of 1.37 (95% CI 1.25-1.49) and 1.21 (95% CI 1.07-1.37), respectively. In the pre-vaccine period, NHB and Hispanic women had higher odds of infection than NHW women. However, after the vaccine was implemented, the significant racial/ethnic and SES differences in COVID-19 infections still existed in PCL women residing in non-Greater New Orleans area. Conclusions: There are substantial variations in racial/ethnic and SES disparities in COVID-19 infections among working-age women with PCL, even after vaccine implementation. It is imperative to provide public health interventions and resources to reduce this unequal burden for this vulnerable population.

First Page

1

Last Page

11

DOI

10.3389/fepid.2023.1108452

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Hsieh, Mei-Chin; Lefante, Christina; Straif-Bourgeois, Susanne; Yi, Yong; Gomez, Natalie; Shrestha, Pratibha; Chen, Vivien W.; and Wu, Xiao-Cheng, "Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19 infections among working-age women with precancerous cervical lesion in Louisiana: analysis of more than two years of COVID-19 data" (2023). LSU-LCMC Cancer Center Faculty Publications. 161.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/llcc_facpubs/161
10.3389/fepid.2023.1108452