<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Marjan Meurisse</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Adrien Lajot</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Brecht Devleesschauwer</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Dieter Van Cauteren</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Herman Van Oyen</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Laura Van den Borre</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ruben Brondeel</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The association between area deprivation and COVID-19 incidence: a municipality-level spatio-temporal study in Belgium, 2020–2021</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Archives of Public Health</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Area deprivation</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Belgium</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">COVID-19</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">incidence</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">socio-economic inequality</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2022</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Jan-12-2022</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">80</style></volume><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">&lt;p&gt;Background&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In Belgium, current research on socio-economic inequalities in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis has mainly focused on excess mortality and data from the first epidemiological wave. The current study adds onto this by examining the association between COVID-19 incidence and area deprivation during the first five wave and interwave periods, thus adding a temporal gradient to the analyses.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Methods&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;We use all confirmed COVID-19 cases between March 2020 and June 2021 in Belgium, aggregated at the municipality-level. These data were collected by the national laboratory-based COVID-19 surveillance system. A level of area deprivation was assigned to each Belgian municipality using data of three socio-economic variables: the share of unemployed persons in the active population, the share of households without a car and the share of low-educated persons. The spatio-temporal association between COVID-19 incidence and area deprivation was assessed by performing multivariate negative-binomial regression analyses and computing population attributable fractions.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Results&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A significant association between COVID-19 incidence and area deprivation was found over the entire study period, with the incidence in the most deprived areas predicted to be 24% higher than in the least deprived areas. This effect was dependent on the period during the COVID-19 crisis. The largest socio-economic inequalities in COVID-19 infections could be observed during wave 2 and wave 3, with a clear disadvantage for deprived areas.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Conclusion&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Our results provide new insights into spatio-temporal patterns of socio-economic inequalities in COVID-19 incidence in Belgium. They reveal the existence of inequalities and a shift of these patterns over time.&lt;/p&gt;
</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1</style></issue></record></records></xml>