PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Felix P Chilunga
AU  - Lenny Stoeldraijer
AU  - Charles Agyemang
AU  - Karien Stronks
AU  - Carel Harmsen
AU  - Anton E Kunst
TI  - Inequalities in COVID-19 deaths by migration background during the first wave, interwave period and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a closed cohort study of 17 million inhabitants of the Netherlands
AID  - 10.1136/jech-2022-219521
DP  - 2022 Oct 31
TA  - Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
PG  - jech-2022-219521
4099  - http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2022/10/31/jech-2022-219521.short
4100  - http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2022/10/31/jech-2022-219521.full
AB  - Background It is not known how differences in COVID-19 deaths by migration background in the Netherlands evolved throughout the pandemic, especially after introduction of COVID-19 prevention measures targeted at populations with a migration background (in the second wave). We investigated associations between migration background and COVID-19 deaths across first wave of the pandemic, interwave period and second wave in the Netherlands.Methods We obtained multiple registry data from Statistics Netherlands spanning from 1 March 2020 to 14 March 2021 comprising 17.4 million inhabitants. We estimated incidence rate ratios for COVID-19 deaths by migration background using Poisson regression models and adjusted for relevant sociodemographic factors.Results Populations with a migration background, especially those with Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese background, exhibited higher risk of COVID-19 deaths than the Dutch origin population throughout the study periods. The elevated risk of COVID-19 deaths among populations with a migration background (as compared with Dutch origin population) was around 30% higher in the second wave than in the first wave.Conclusions Differences in COVID-19 deaths by migration background persisted in the second wave despite introduction of COVID-19 prevention measures targeted at populations with a migration background in the second wave. Research on explanatory mechanisms and novel prevention measures are needed to address the ongoing differences in COVID-19 deaths by migration background.Data are available on reasonable request.