Date of Award

January 2025

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Daniel D. Weinberger

Second Advisor

Chenxi C. Huang

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the main cause of respiratory diseases in infants, but the sociodemographic differences in RSV risk have not been fully understood for New York State infants within the first two years of life. This study aims to investigate the distribution and risk factors of respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants and young children under 2 years old in New York State.We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the data from the New York State Inpatient Database (SID) and the State Emergency Department Database (SEDD) from 2016 to 2019. Analyze sociodemographic characteristics, including birth weight, gender, race/ethnicity, income and month of birth. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards model were applied to determine the factors related to RSV infection. Among infants under two years old, low birth weight, male gender, ethnic minority/ethnicity, lower family income, and birth from late summer to autumn are significantly associated with an increased risk of RSV infection. The risk of illness for male infants is 31% higher than that for female infants, and the risk of illness for infants in the highest quartile of income is 56% lower than that for infants in the normal quartile. The infection rate is higher among Hispanic and black infants, while the risk is significantly lower among infants of Asian or Pacific Islanders. Geographical analysis shows that compared with patients from outside the state, New York residents exhibit greater racial diversity and a broader income distribution. The risk of respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants in New York is strongly influenced by sociodemographic factors. There is an urgent need for targeted early intervention measures to narrow the gap, especially between low-income and minority groups.

Comments

This is an Open Access Thesis.

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