Socioeconomic status and risk of COVID-19 hospitalization in the

Introduction: The relationship between socioeconomic status and COVID-19 related hospitalization has been widely examined, although findings differ across study settings and populations. This study used data from the NIH Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 25,650 adults with confirmed COVID-19 between 2021 and 2023, including 662 hospitalized for COVID-19. Covariates were age, sex at birth, race/ethnicity, annual household income, education, and deprivation index score. Our analysis controlled for the following risk factors: BMI, smoking status at enrollment, COVID-19 vaccination status, and history of cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and hypertension. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios. Results: Increased hospitalization risk was observed among participants aged 66-95 (OR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.58) and aged 51-65 (OR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.24, 2.43), as well as Non-Hispanic Black/African American participants (OR: 2.48, 95% CI: 1.99, 3.10), and Hispanic participants (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.88). Increased risk was also observed among participants living in the highest deprivation areas (OR: 2.60, 95% CI: 2.04, 3.31), those with an annual income less than $25,000 (OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.15, 2.44), and those with an annual income of $25,000 to $50,000 (OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.99). Conclusion: Our findings indicate meaningful associations between the risk of COVID-19-associated hospitalization and socioeconomic factors including age, racial/ethnic minority status, lower income, and higher area deprivation.