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How Cumulative Statistics Can Mislead: The Temporal Dynamism of Sex Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality in New York State

Author

Listed:
  • Ann Caroline Danielsen

    (Harvard GenderSci Lab, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA)

  • Marion Boulicault

    (College of Computing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
    Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA)

  • Annika Gompers

    (Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA)

  • Tamara Rushovich

    (Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

  • Katharine M. N. Lee

    (Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA)

  • Sarah S. Richardson

    (Department of the History of Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
    Committee on Degrees in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA)

Abstract

Overall, men have died from COVID-19 at slightly higher rates than women. But cumulative estimates of mortality by sex may be misleading. We analyze New York State COVID-19 mortality by sex between March 2020 and August 2021, demonstrating that 72.7% of the total difference in the number of COVID-19 deaths between women and men was accrued in the first seven weeks of the pandemic. Thus, while the initial surge in COVID-19 mortality was characterized by stark sex disparities, this article shows that disparities were greatly attenuated in subsequent phases of the pandemic. Investigating changes over time could help illuminate how contextual factors contributed to the development of apparent sex disparities in COVID-19 outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Ann Caroline Danielsen & Marion Boulicault & Annika Gompers & Tamara Rushovich & Katharine M. N. Lee & Sarah S. Richardson, 2022. "How Cumulative Statistics Can Mislead: The Temporal Dynamism of Sex Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality in New York State," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-7, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14066-:d:956206
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