Kerman University of Medical Sciences International Journal of Health Policy and Management 2322-5939 11 12 2022 12 01 Exposure to COVID-19 Infection and Mortality Rates Among People With Disabilities in South Korea 3052 3059 4279 10.34172/ijhpm.2022.6996 EN Woo-Hwi Jeon Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea 0000-0002-8544-4115 In-Hwan Oh Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea 0000-0002-5450-9887 Jeong-Yeon Seon Health Insurance Research Institute, National Health Insurance Service, Wonju, South Korea 0000-0002-0080-168X Jin-Nam Kim Department of Health Services Management, School of Management, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea 0000-0001-6798-6917 So-Youn Park Department of Medical Education and Medical Humanities, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea 0000-0003-0553-5381 Journal Article 2021 12 07 Background With the delayed eradication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), people with disabilities, a socially vulnerable class of individuals, face aggravated hardships caused by a pause in support services and lack of care due to stricter social distancing policies combined with the challenges of their disabilities. Given this background, we aim to investigate COVID-19 infection and mortality rates among people with disabilities, who face heightened physical and mental health threats amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Gender, age, health insurance premiums, the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), the severity of the disability, and the type of disability were compared among people with disabilities who had been infected with or died from COVID-19 using the nationally representative National Health Insurance Service (NHIS)-COVID-19 database (DB). Results We found that the COVID-19 infection rate was higher among those with low income, those with severe disability, and those with “other” disabilities (ie, speech disabilities, hepatic dysfunction, respiratory dysfunction, facial disfigurement, intestinal fistular/urinary disability, epilepsy, intellectual disability, autistic disorder, and mental disorders). The mortality rate was markedly higher (ie, 15.90 times higher, odds ratio [OR]: 15.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.16 - 41.06) among people aged 80 years or older as compared with those aged 60 years or younger. The odds for mortality were 2.49 times higher (OR: 2.49, 95% CI: 1.33 - 4.64) among people with severe disabilities as compared with mild disabilities. Conclusion Among people with disabilities, we found that COVID-19 infection rates differed according to income level, severity of the disability, and disability type, while the COVID-19 mortality rates differed according to age and severity of the disability.

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