Examining longitudinal disparities in COVID-19 prevalence in the U.S.: a county level growth rate perspective

Figures & data

Table 1. Name and a brief description of all variables (Population Determinants or PDs) used in the study.

Variable	Description
Adults with Diabetes [13]^a	Percentage of adults aged 20 and above with diagnosed diabetes
Adults with Obesity [9]	Percentage of the adult population (age 20 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2
African-American [10]	Portion of population who are African-Ameican (%)
Age-Adjusted Death Rate [9]	Number of deaths among residents under age 75 per 100,000 population (age-adjusted)
Average Daily PM2.5 [9]	Average daily density of fine particulate matter in micrograms per cubic metre (PM2.5)
Average Number of Mentally Unhealthy Days [9]	Average number of mentally unhealthy days reported in past 30 days (age-adjusted)
Average Number of Physically Unhealthy Days [9]	Average number of physically unhealthy days reported in past 30 days (age-adjusted)
Disability [10]	Portion of population with at least one disability (%)
Education [10]	Portion of the population older than 25 years old with high school diplomas or higher degrees. (%)
Excessive Drinking [9]	Percentage of adults reporting binge or heavy drinking (%)
Fair or Poor Health [9]	Percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health (age-adjusted)
Food Insecure [9]	Percentage of population who lack adequate access to food (%)
Gini Index [10]	A measure of statistical dispersion in income or wealth distribution
Health Insurance [10]	Portion of population with at least one health insurance (%)
Hispanic [10]	Portion of population who are hispanic (%)
HIV Prevalence Rate [9]	Number of people aged 13 years and older living with a diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection per 100,000 population
Homeowners [9]	Percentage of occupied housing units that are owned
Life Expectancy [9]	Average number of years a person can expect to live
Median Age [10]	Median age of the population
Median Income [10]	Median income (adjusted to 2018 U.S. dollars)
Over45 [10]	Portion of population with a age ≥45 years old (%)
Over60 [10]	Portion of population with a age ≥60 years old (%)
Physically Inactive [9]	Percentage of adults age 20 and over reporting no leisure-time physical activity
Population Density [10]	Total population living within a square kilometre of a county
Primary Care Physicians Ratio [9]	Ratio of population to primary care physicians
Public Assistance [10]	Portion of the population who are part assistance programs that provide cash or in-kind benefits
Single Parent Households [9]	Percentage of children that live in a household headed by single parent (%)
Smokers [9]	Percentage of adults who are current smokers (%)
Social Association Rate [9]	Number of membership associations per 10,000 population
Unemployed [9]	Percentage of population ages 16 and older unemployed but seeking work
White [10]	Portion of population who are white (%)

^aThe data listed in this table was obtained from the source numbers shown here that could be found in the References section.

Figure 1. Geospatial distribution of weekly slopes (number of cases per 10,000 people per day) of the COVID-19 spread curve from DAY1 (first day with a reported non-zero confirmed case): (A) at the end of the first week, (B) from the end of week 2 to the end of week 3, (C) from the end of week 5 to the end of week 6, and (D) from the end of week 7 to the end of week 8.

Figure 2. The longitudinal nationwide median of weekly slopes (number of cases per 10,000 people per day) using the normalized cases. The dashed lines represent the national median days since DAY1 for the issuance and lifting the stay-home order.

Figure 3. The top six most correlated PDs with the slope of the COVID-19 spread curve and corresponding Spearsman's correlation coefficients for different weeks.

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Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials.