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The following is a summary of “Area-related sociodemographic factors and the risk of severe COVID-19: a longitudinal study of the total adult population in Sweden,” published in the May 2025 issue of Infectious Diseases by Dahlgren et al. 

It was essential for public health to understand which demographic groups and their residential areas were affected by COVID-19 and how extensively they were reached by preventive measures.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze how individual-level and area-level characteristics were associated with COVID-19 morbidity and vaccine uptake.  

They performed a population-based observational study of all adults aged 18 and older in Sweden from January 1, 2020, to April 1, 2022, excluding those in nursing homes. Associations between individual and area-level factors and COVID-19 morbidity (hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death) and vaccine uptake were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for age, sex, comorbidity, and socioeconomic and demographic factors.  

The results showed that in the fully adjusted model, individuals in the most affluent neighborhoods had a 34% lower hazard ratio (HR) for COVID-19 hospitalization (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.63–0.68) compared to those in the most deprived areas. Risks for ICU admission and COVID-19 death were 53% (HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.42–0.53) and 47% (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.48–0.59) lower, respectively. This pattern remained consistent across all sociodemographic strata. Additionally, a composite area-level measure predicted outcomes more effectively than individual indicators.  

Investigators concluded that living in deprived neighborhoods was associated with significantly higher risks of COVID-19 hospitalization, ICU- admission, mortality, and lower vaccine uptake, even after accounting for individual-level factors. 

Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23744235.2025.2503466