Spatiotemporal variations in mortality from COVID-19 in neighborhoods of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study is to describe the spatio-temporal variations in mortality from COVID-19 within the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA). METHODS: Data referring to the day, month and year, and the place of residence of the people who died from COVID-19 in CABA from March 3 to October 3, 2020 were used. The spatial units were the 48 neighborhoods that make up the CABA and two populations were analyzed (under 60 years and from this age or older). Spatio-temporal scan statistics were used to detect high and low mortality clusters. The percentage of households with Unsatisfied Basic Needs (UBN), as a measure of structural poverty, was compared between neighborhoods belonging to high mortality clusters and neighborhoods belonging to low mortality clusters. RESULTS: The high mortality clusters were located mainly in the southern half of CABA, while the low mortality clusters were located in the west and north of the city. The neighborhoods of high mortality clusters showed higher percentages of households with UBN compared to the neighborhoods belonging to low mortality clusters. DISCUSSION: This study found socio-spatial inequalities in mortality from COVID-19 between neighborhoods in CABA, reflecting a persistent north-south socioeconomic gap for several decades.