This study aimed to characterize risk groups for COVID-19 in Brazil and to estimate the number of individuals living in the same household with persons in the risk group. Data were used from the Brazilian National Health Survey (PNS) of 2013. To characterize the risk groups, a binary multiple logistic regression model was adjusted in which the response variable was the presence or absence of at least one condition associated with COVID-19 and the explanatory variables were age, sex, major geographic region, color or race, schooling, and workforce status of the residents interviewed by the study. The results show that age is the principal risk factor for comorbidities associated with COVID-19, but the risk is also greater for persons in more vulnerable categories, such as those with less schooling and blacks and browns. An estimated 68.7% of Brazilians were living with at least one person in the risk group: 30.3% lived with at least one elderly individual and another 38.4% had no elderly individuals in their households, but there was at least one adult resident with preexisting medical conditions. The proportion of persons living in households with at least one resident in the risk group was 50% or greater for all ages and increased from 35 years of age, but there were also high numbers of persons 10 to 25 years of age living with persons in the risk group. The results suggest that due to the difficulties in avoiding close household contact, the exclusive isolation of specific population groups is not a feasible strategy in the Brazilian context, but should be combined with social distancing of the population as a whole.
Keywords:
COVID-19; Risk Groups; Socioeconomic Factors; Social Isolation
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