Impact of Social Deprivation on Hospitalization and Intensive Care Unit Admission among COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic has disproportionately affected socially disadvantaged groups; however, the association between socioeconomic status and healthcare utilization among covid-19 patients remains unclear. therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association between socioeconomic status and hospitalization and intensive care unit admission among covid-19 patients. methods: pubmed, embase, and the cochrane register of controlled trials were searched for relevant litera-ture (updated to jun 2022). studies that investigated the association of social deprivation with hospitalization and intensive care unit admission in covid-19 patients were included. the primary outcomes included risk of hospitalization and intensive care unit admission, measured by odds ratio. results: eleven studies covering 2,423,095 patients were included in the meta-analysis. socially disadvantaged patients had higher odds of hospitalization in comparison to socially advantaged patients (odds ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval: 1.14 to 1.38; p<0.01). the odds of intensive care unit admission among more deprived patients was not significantly different from that of less deprived patients (odds ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval: 0.78 to 1.35; p=0.85). these findings were proven robust through subgroup and sensitivity analyses.conclusion: socially disadvantaged populations have higher odds of hospitalization if they become infected with covid-19. more effective medical support and interventions for these vulnerable populations are re-quired to reduce inequity in healthcare utilization and alleviate the burden on healthcare systems.