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Age and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: a comparison of the prison and general population.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Nowotny, K; Metheny, H; LeMasters, K; Brinkley-Rubinstein, L
Published in: Int J Prison Health
June 23, 2022

PURPOSE: The USA has a rapidly aging prison population that, combined with their poorer health and living conditions, is at extreme risk for COVID-19. The purpose of this paper is to compare COVID-19 mortality trends in the US prison population and the general population to see how mortality risk changed over the course of the pandemic. The authors first provide a national overview of trends in COVID-19 mortality; then, the authors assess COVID-19 deaths among older populations using more detailed data from one US state. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors used multiple publicly available data sets (e.g. Centers for Disease Control and prevention, COVID Prison Project) and indirect and direct standardization to estimate standardized mortality rates covering the period from April 2020 to June 2021 for the US and for the State of Texas. FINDINGS: While 921 COVID-19-related deaths among people in US prisons were expected as of June 5, 2021, 2,664 were observed, corresponding to a standardized mortality ratio of 2.89 (95%CI 2.78, 3.00). The observed number of COVID-19-related deaths exceeded the expected number of COVID-19-related deaths among people in prison for most of the pandemic, with a substantially widening gap leading to a plateau about four weeks after the COVID-19 vaccine was introduced in the USA. In the state population, the older population in prison is dying at younger ages compared with the general population, with the highest percentage of deaths among people aged 50-64 years. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: People who are incarcerated are dying of COVID-19 at a rate that far outpaces the general population and are dying at younger ages. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This descriptive analysis serves as a first step in understanding the dynamic trends in COVID-19 mortality and the association between age and COVID-19 death in US prisons.

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Published In

Int J Prison Health

DOI

EISSN

1744-9219

Publication Date

June 23, 2022

Volume

ahead-of-print

Issue

ahead-of-print

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Substance Abuse
  • Prisons
  • Prisoners
  • Humans
  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • COVID-19
  • Aging
  • 4402 Criminology
  • 4206 Public health
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Nowotny, K., Metheny, H., LeMasters, K., & Brinkley-Rubinstein, L. (2022). Age and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: a comparison of the prison and general population. Int J Prison Health, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0069
Nowotny, Kathryn, Hannah Metheny, Katherine LeMasters, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein. “Age and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: a comparison of the prison and general population.Int J Prison Health ahead-of-print, no. ahead-of-print (June 23, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0069.
Nowotny K, Metheny H, LeMasters K, Brinkley-Rubinstein L. Age and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: a comparison of the prison and general population. Int J Prison Health. 2022 Jun 23;ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print).
Nowotny, Kathryn, et al. “Age and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: a comparison of the prison and general population.Int J Prison Health, vol. ahead-of-print, no. ahead-of-print, June 2022. Pubmed, doi:10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0069.
Nowotny K, Metheny H, LeMasters K, Brinkley-Rubinstein L. Age and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: a comparison of the prison and general population. Int J Prison Health. 2022 Jun 23;ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print).

Published In

Int J Prison Health

DOI

EISSN

1744-9219

Publication Date

June 23, 2022

Volume

ahead-of-print

Issue

ahead-of-print

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Substance Abuse
  • Prisons
  • Prisoners
  • Humans
  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • COVID-19
  • Aging
  • 4402 Criminology
  • 4206 Public health