Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in migrants and ethnic minorities compared with the general population in the European WHO region during the first year of the pandemic: a systematic review

Background Migrants and ethnic minorities have suffered a disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the general population from different perspectives. Our aim was to assess specifically their risk of infection in the 53 countries belonging to the World Health Organization Europea...

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Published in:BMC public health Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 143 - 14
Main Authors: Jaljaa, Anissa, Caminada, Susanna, Tosti, Maria Elena, D’Angelo, Franca, Angelozzi, Aurora, Isonne, Claudia, Marchetti, Giulia, Mazzalai, Elena, Giannini, Dara, Turatto, Federica, De Marchi, Chiara, Gatta, Angela, Declich, Silvia, Pizzarelli, Scilla, Geraci, Salvatore, Baglio, Giovanni, Marceca, Maurizio
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London BioMed Central 20.01.2022
BioMed Central Ltd
Springer Nature B.V
BMC
Subjects:
Access to information
Biostatistics
Citations
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cross-Sectional Studies
Deprivation
Ecological studies
Environmental Health
Epidemiology
Ethnic and Racial Minorities
Ethnic factors
Ethnic minorities
Geographical distribution
Health aspects
Health inequalities
Health risks
Humans
Immigrants
Infections
Information dissemination
Literature reviews
Medical research
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Migrants
Migration
Minorities
Minority & ethnic groups
Pandemics
Population
Public Health
Refugees
Research Article
Risk analysis
Risk factors
SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 infection
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Social Deprivation
Systematic review
Transients and Migrants
Vaccine
Viral diseases
World Health Organization
Europe
Latin America
Spain
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 infection
Systematic review
Ethnic minorities
Migrants
Health inequalities
ISSN:1471-2458, 1471-2458
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Background Migrants and ethnic minorities have suffered a disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the general population from different perspectives. Our aim was to assess specifically their risk of infection in the 53 countries belonging to the World Health Organization European Region, during the first year of the pandemic. Methods We conducted a systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PROSPERO CRD42021247326). We searched multiple databases for peer-reviewed literature, published on Medline, Embase, Scisearch, Biosis and Esbiobase in 2020 and preprints from PubMed up to 29/03/2021. We included cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, intervention, case-series, prevalence or ecological studies, reporting the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among migrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities. Results Among the 1905 records screened, 25 met our inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. We found that migrants and ethnic minorities during the first wave of the pandemic were at increased exposure and risk of infection and were disproportionately represented among COVID-19 cases. However, the impact of COVID-19 on minorities does not seem homogeneous, since some ethnic groups seem to be more at risk than others. Risk factors include high-risk occupations, overcrowded accommodations, geographic distribution, social deprivation, barriers to access to information concerning preventive measures (due to the language barrier or to their marginality), together with biological and genetic susceptibilities. Conclusions Although mixed methods studies will be required to fully understand the complex interplay between the various biological, social, and cultural factors underlying these findings, the impact of structural determinants of health is evident. Our findings corroborate the need to collect migration and ethnicity-disaggregated data and contribute to advocacy for inclusive policies and programmatic actions tailored to reach migrants and ethnic minorities.
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ISSN:1471-2458
1471-2458
DOI:10.1186/s12889-021-12466-1