COVID-19 mortality among migrants living in Italy

Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2020 Jul-Sep;56(3):373-377. doi: 10.4415/ANN_20_03_16.

Abstract

We aimed to compare COVID-19-specific and all-cause mortality rates among natives and migrants in Italy and to investigate the clinical characteristics of individuals dying with COVID-19 by native/migrant status. The mortality rates and detailed clinical characteristics of natives and migrants dying with COVID-19 were explored by considering the medical charts of a representative sample of patients deceased in Italian hospitals (n = 2,687) between February 21st and April 29th, 2020. The migrant or native status was assigned based on the individual's country of birth. The expected all-cause mortality among natives and migrants living in Italy was derived by the last available (2018) dataset provided by the Italian National Institute of Statistics. Overall, 68 individuals with a migration background were identified. The proportions of natives and migrants among the COVID-19-related deaths (97.5% and 2.5%, respectively) were similar to the relative all-cause mortality rates estimated in Italy in 2018 (97.4% and 2.6%, respectively). The clinical phenotype of migrants dying with COVID-19 was similar to that of natives except for the younger age at death. International migrants living in Italy do not have a mortality advantage for COVID-19 and are exposed to the risk of poor outcomes as their native counterparts.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Albania / ethnology
  • Betacoronavirus*
  • COVID-19
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / epidemiology
  • Cause of Death
  • Comorbidity
  • Coronavirus Infections / mortality*
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / epidemiology
  • Female
  • France / ethnology
  • Healthy Worker Effect
  • Hospital Records
  • Humans
  • Italy / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mortality / ethnology
  • Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Obesity / epidemiology
  • Pandemics*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / mortality*
  • Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / epidemiology
  • Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / epidemiology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Transients and Migrants / statistics & numerical data*