How Did Economic Crisis Associated With The COVID-19 Pandemic Amplify The Already Existing Structured, Economic, Age, Gender and Spatial Disparities In Urban-related Diseases? The Case for Low Incomes Californians'. (original) (raw)

By amplifying the ' Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health, Education, Jobs, Income, Wealth and Residential Goods and Services ', Economic crises tend to increase all kinds of Stressors that in turn increase the risk of Urban-related Diseases. In fact, according to the ' Stress-diathesis Model of Suicidal Behavior ' every human can potentially face: - Environmental Stressors. - Psychosocial Stressors. - Chemical Stressors. - Daily Life Stressors. - Life Change Stressors. Unfortunately, each of them call for Neuroinflammatory response that in turn increase the risk of Neuropathological and Psychiatric Disorders that in turn put at a greater risk of Mental Health and Behavioral Disorders. Unfortunately, the positive, strong and significant association within Mental Illness, Suicide, Addictions and Heart Diseases makes it easier in overall for the Stressors ( individually, collectively or cumulatively) to increase the risk of Urban-related Diseases. Therefore, by amplifying Stressors of all kinds, Economic Crises put nations and their populations at a greater risk of Urban-related Diseases including Heart Diseases, Obesity, Sucide, Mental Health and Behavioral Diseases and Drug, Alcohol, Sex and Tobacco Addictions. This is mainly the case for the Peripheral Populations ( Female, Youth, Seniors, Disable and Underrepresented Minorities including African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, Natives) due to the significant Socioeconomic inequalities they face. Since then, the Economic crises associated with the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the 2012 Eurozone crisis have tended to lead to the above outcomes. In other words, they've increased the Urban-related Diseases and Mortality rates associated of the Peripheral Populations so called also the Vulnerable Populations. Since then, the concept of " Countercyclical Evolution of Mortality" has been used to describe the increase of Mortality rate during an economic crisis. Furthermore, and unfortunately, the health costs such as CVDs associated with the economic crises have reduced the life expectancy in US. Unfortunately, in its Indirect effects and as expected, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the same outcomes. In fact, the economic crisis associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the already existing Gender, Race, Social and Spatial Disparities in Urban-related Diseases and Mortality rates '. For example, CDC (2020c) found that compared to white, non-Huspanic Americans, Black Americans are 2.6 times more likely to contract COVID-19, 4.7 times more likely to be hospitalized as a result of contracting the virus, and 2.1 times more likely to die from the COVUD-19-related health issues. Furthermore, while non-Hispanic white are dying in the largest numbers (CDC, 2020a), Black and Hispanic people are dying at muchhigher rates relative to their share of the US population. Moreover, PNAS(2020) found that deaths caused directly or indirectly by COVID during the first full month of the pandemic were highly geographically concentrated. About half of all national excess deaths were in just two states: New York and New Jersey. Furthermore, the dramatic degradation of the socioeconomic factors and adoption of unhealthy lifestyle due to lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have put Californians at a greater risk of Heart Diseases and Mental health and Behavioral Disorders. That was mainly the case for its Peripheral populations such as the Californians' Lower and Moderate Income Workforce and Underrepresented Minorities. Accordingly, California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) (2020) found that the COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted significant stresses on the physical, emotional, and financial well-being of California's residents, especially the seven million Californians-approximately 18% of the state's residents-living in poverty. Furthermore, CHCF (2020) found that experience with discrimination was common among black and younger respondents. In fact, the survey asked respondents a number of questions about their personal experiences with racial or ethnic discrimination and the impacts of any racial or ethnic discrimination on their health. Since then, like previous crisis, the economic crisis associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has led to Counter Cyclical Evolution of Mortality in US mainly for the Peripheral populations and spaces. However, the Indirect effects of COVID-19 pandemic was not limited only to the Economic crisis. They've also included Quarantine, Fear of Hospitals and Missed Medical Visits that at the end have led to the same outcomes: " Counter Cyclical Evolution of Mortality ". For example, quarantine associated with the COVID-19 pandemic did put many people and their children at a greater risk of isolation and loneliness on the one hand and force adults and children to adopt unhealthy lifestyle on the second hand. By so doing, it did put them at a greater risk of Urban-related Diseases including Mental Health and Behavioral Disorders, Suicide, Obesity, Addictions and Chronic Diseases. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated quarantine have worsened the already existing Global Education Crisis that did dramatically increase the risk of Educational gap. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic did affect the cognitive performance of children and their future. For example, the Quarantine associated to COVID has also increased the growing importance of indoor activities. By so doing, it did put many people including children at a greater risk of breathing poor indoor quality that in turn did increase the risk of Sick Building Syndromes (SBS) and Urban-related Diseases (James Michael Walker , 2022). Furthermore, as exposure to indoor air pollution reduces the cognitive performance of kids and adults (James Michael Walker, 2022), the growing importance of Teleworking and Virtual Learning during quarantine has dramatically reduced their cognitive performance. In fact, Joseph Jones and Janet Aker (2020) found that children under age 12 who are not vaccinated may be in quarantine or doing virtual learning. Key Words: COVID-19 Pandemic; Directs and Indirect Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic ; Socioeconomic inequalities; Peripheral Populatons; Low Incomes Californians; Counter cyclical Evolution of Mortality ; Urban-related Diseases.