| Literature DB >> 34902421 |
Michael M Thomas1, Neda Mohammadi2, John E Taylor3.
Abstract
Urbanization introduces the threat of increased epidemic disease transmission resulting from crowding on mass transit. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has directly led to over 600,000 deaths in the US as of July 2021, triggered mass social distancing policies to be enacted as a key deterrent of widespread infections. Social distancing can be challenging in confined spaces required for transportation such as mass transit systems. Little is published regarding the degree to which mass transit system adoption effects impacted the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic in urban centers. Taking an ecological approach where areal data are the unit of observation, this national-scale study aims to measure the association between the adoption of mass transit and COVID-19 spread through confirmed cases in US metropolitan areas. National survey-based transit adoption measures are entered in negative binomial regression models to evaluate differences between areas. The model results demonstrate that mass transit adoption in US metropolitan areas was associated with the magnitude of outbreaks. Higher incidence of COVID-19 early in the pandemic was associated with survey results conveying higher transit use. Increasing weekly bus transit usage in metropolitan statistical areas by one scaled unit was associated with a 1.38 [95% CI: (1.25, 1.90)] times increase in incidence rate of COVID-19; a one scaled unit increase in weekly train transit usage was associated with an increase in incidence rate of 1.54 [95% CI: (1.42, 2.07)] times. These conclusions should inform early action practices in urban centers with busy transit systems in the event of future infectious disease outbreaks. Deeper understanding of these observed associations may also benefit modeling efforts by allowing researchers to include mathematical adjustments or better explain caveats to results when communicating with decision makers and the public in the crucial early stages of an epidemic.Entities:
Keywords: COVID-19; Disease transmission; Public health; Public transportation; SARS-CoV-2; Transit
Mesh:
Year: 2021 PMID: 34902421 PMCID: PMC8662904 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152284
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Sci Total Environ ISSN: 0048-9697 Impact factor: 7.963
Fig. 1Spatial Distribution of Scaled Values (left-to-right starting from top left) percentage of individuals over 25 with only a high school diploma (including equivalency exam), COVID-19 incidence rate, percentage of households with one occupant or fewer per room, percentage of families in the last 12 months that are below the poverty level, percentage of survey respondents stating transit (Bus/Train) use daily or weekly. All values are mean normalized.
Fig. 2Total COVID-19 incidence plotted against bus and train usage with LOESS smoothed line with standard error estimate describing association.
Negative binomial regression model results.
| Estimate | SE | 95% CI | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train Negative Binomial ( | ||||
| (Intercept) | –6.06 | 0.10 | (–6.30, –5.84) | <0.001 |
| Proportion Ride Train Daily or Weekly | 0.53 | 0.09 | (0.35, 0.73) | <0.001 |
| Proportion Below Poverty Line | 0.23 | 0.12 | (0.00, 0.47) | 0.058 |
| Proportion with <1 Occupant per Room | 0.22 | 0.12 | (–0.02, 0.46) | 0.071 |
| Proportion High School Graduate | 0.12 | 0.17 | (–0.21, 0.45) | 0.462 |
| Bus Negative Binomial (N = 52) | ||||
| (Intercept) | –6.03 | 0.15 | (–6.37, –5.68) | <0.001 |
| Proportion Ride Bus Daily or Weekly | 0.43 | 0.11 | (0.23, 0.64) | <0.001 |
| Proportion Below Poverty Line | 0.21 | 0.14 | (–0.06, 0.49) | 0.139 |
| Proportion with <1 Occupant per Room | 0.11 | 0.15 | (–0.19, 0.39) | 0.111 |
| Proportion High School Graduate | 0.02 | 0.20 | (–0.39, 0.41) | 0.016 |
Negative binomial regression model results (Without New York).
| Estimate | SE | 95% CI | P-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train Negative Binomial ( | ||||
| (Intercept) | −6.07 | 0.11 | (−6.32, −5.84) | <0.001 |
| Proportion Ride Train Daily or Weekly | 0.50 | 0.13 | (0.26, 0.75) | <0.001 |
| Proportion Below Poverty Line | 0.23 | 0.12 | (−0.01, 0.48) | 0.063 |
| Proportion with <1 Occupant per Room | 0.23 | 0.13 | (−0.02, 0.48) | 0.066 |
| Proportion High School Graduate | 0.11 | 0.17 | (−0.24, 0.44) | 0.539 |
| Bus Negative Binomial (N = 52) | ||||
| (Intercept) | −6.08 | 0.14 | (−6.40, −5.76) | <0.001 |
| Proportion Ride Bus Daily or Weekly | 0.33 | 0.11 | (0.12, 0.55) | 0.003 |
| Proportion Below Poverty Line | 0.20 | 0.13 | (−0.05, 0.47) | 0.130 |
| Proportion with <1 Occupant per Room | 0.21 | 0.15 | (−0.09, 0.49) | 0.145 |
| Proportion High School Graduate | −0.03 | 0.19 | (−0.40, 0.34) | 0.891 |