Risk of COVID-19 and major adverse clinical outcomes among people with disabilities in South Korea.
Jae Woo Choi, Euna Han, Sang Gyu Lee and 2 others
PMID 34134944WHAT IT FOUND
People with officially registered disabilities were more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 and to have severe outcomes like ICU admission, ventilation, or death.
This risk was significantly higher for those with severe disability, but not for those with mild disability.
Key findings
01People with disabilities had a higher risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 than those without disabilities (odds ratio 1.36).
02Severe disability was associated with a higher risk of testing positive (odds ratio 1.82), whereas mild disability was not (odds ratio 1.05).
03Among those who tested positive, people with disabilities had a higher risk of major adverse clinical outcomes, including ICU admission, invasive ventilation, or death (odds ratio 1.43).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study did not adjust for obesity, which is a known risk factor for severe COVID-19 and may be more prevalent in people with disabilities. Due to data de-identification policies, the study could not analyze the risk associated with specific types of disability (e.g., visual, hearing, intellectual), only the overall category and severity. The findings are from South Korea and may not generalize to other countries with different healthcare systems or pandemic responses. The study relied on official registration for disability status, which may not capture all individuals with functional limitations who are not registered.
Declared interests
The work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or decision to publish. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume all people with disabilities face the same level of risk. The study found that mild disability was not associated with a significantly higher risk of infection or severe outcomes compared to no disability, whereas severe disability was.