NEW ORLEANS — Are you married or single?
Do you live alone or with several family members?
A new study finds that the answers to these kinds of questions may be the best way to determine your risk of catching the coronavirus.
Back in the spring and summer of 2020, when the original coronavirus was spreading, doctors at Ochsner and Pennington Biomedical Research Center took a look at who was most likely to catch the virus in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. In both cities, African-Americans were twice as likely to become infected than people who are white.
“Minority populations and African-Americans are more likely to live in multigenerational households that predispose them to the high circulation of this virus,” said Kara Denstel, Project Manager for Population and Public Health Sciences at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
She says individual behavior makes a difference.
“What we found was that while where you lived mattered some, it was actually the individual-level characteristics that accounted for most of the risk for infection.”
So let's look at those individual characteristics.
In New Orleans, the odds of infection were higher for:
• Black adults and single adults. The risk for single adults was about 50% higher than for married adults.
• Households with multiple people compared to those who lived alone.
• Healthy people compared to those with preexisting conditions, like diabetes or heart disease.
“People who did have underlying health issues, they stayed home. They were diligent about social distancing. They were diligent about wearing their mask, so that's why we see they actually had less risk,” said Denstel.
In Baton Rouge people more likely to be infected were:
• People between 18 and 37 years old.
• Black adults and single adults.
• People in health care, public-facing jobs, over those who worked in an office.
And while the virus is changing, along with risk factors, and our knowledge of how to treat it, the researchers say some original strategies still can make a difference.
“Regardless of where we are in the pandemic, we can still do things to protect ourselves, wearing your mask, staying home when you're sick, getting vaccinated and boosted.”
And she says getting tested to know if you are putting others at risk.
The study also found that communities where you have a lot of people living under one roof, as well as communities with lower income, and disparities in education, are at higher risk for infection.