ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2021
Inequalities in population health loss by multiple deprivation: COVID-19 and pre-pandemic all-cause disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in Scotland.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- The silent epidemic within the pandemic: pathophysiology and prediction of post-COVID-19 diabetes.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Provincial Disparities in the COVID-19 Burden: Hospital Data Analysis from Iran.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2026Article
- Social inequalities in COVID-19-related years of life lost in metropolitan France, 2020.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- COVID-19 burden in Iran: disability-adjusted life years analysis from hospital data, 2020-2021.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
- Inequity in mortality rates and potential years of life lost caused by COVID-19 in the Greater Santiago, Chile.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Inequalities in access to NHS primary care dental services in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic.British dental journal · 2023Article
- Direct impact of COVID-19 by estimating disability-adjusted life years at national level in France in 2020.PloS one · 2023Article
- Correction: Inequalities in population health loss by multiple deprivation: COVID-19 and pre-pandemic all-cause disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in Scotland.International journal for equity in health · 2022Article
- Monitoring Health Inequalities in 12 European Countries: Lessons Learned from the Joint Action Health Equity Europe.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Modelling the potential acute and post-acute burden of COVID-19 under the Australian border re-opening plan.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to the direct health impact of COVID-19 in India, 2020.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Burden of Disease of COVID-19: Strengthening the Collaboration for National Studies.Frontiers in public health · 2022Review
- Estimating the direct Covid-19 disability-adjusted life years impact on the Malta population for the first full year.BMC public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 has caused almost unprecedented change across health, education, the economy and social interaction. It is widely understood that the existing mechanisms which shape health inequalities have resulted in COVID-19 outcomes following this same, familiar, pattern. Our aim was to estimate inequalities in the population health impact of COVID-19 in Scotland, measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2020. Our secondary aim was to scale overall, and inequalities in, COVID-19 DALYs against the level of pre-pandemic inequalities in all-cause DALYs, derived from the Scottish Burden of Disease (SBoD) study.
methodsNational deaths and daily case data were input into the European Burden of Disease Network consensus model to estimate DALYs. Total Years of Life Lost (YLL) were estimated for each area-based deprivation quintile of the Scottish population. Years Lived with Disability were proportionately distributed to deprivation quintiles, based on YLL estimates. Inequalities were measured by: the range, Relative Index of Inequality (RII), Slope Index of Inequality (SII), and attributable DALYs were estimated by using the least deprived quintile as a reference.
resultsMarked inequalities were observed across several measures. The SII range was 2048 to 2289 COVID-19 DALYs per 100,000 population. The rate in the most deprived areas was around 58% higher than the mean population rate (RII = 1.16), with 40% of COVID-19 DALYs attributed to differences in area-based deprivation. Overall DALYs due to COVID-19 ranged from 7 to 20% of the annual pre-pandemic impact of inequalities in health loss combined across all causes.
conclusionThe substantial population health impact of COVID-19 in Scotland was not shared equally across areas experiencing different levels of deprivation. The extent of inequality due to COVID-19 was similar to averting all annual DALYs due to diabetes. In the wider context of population health loss, overall ill-health and mortality due to COVID-19 was, at most, a fifth of the annual population health loss due to inequalities in multiple deprivation. Implementing effective policy interventions to reduce health inequalities must be at the forefront of plans to recover and improve population health.
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