MINI REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Life-Course Epidemiology and Social Inequalities in Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1642407
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Strategies for Urban Public Health Resilience in Crisis SituationsView all 20 articles
Social inequalities in SARS-CoV-2 infection in high income countries: Highlighting the need for an intersectional perspective in quantitative research
Provisionally accepted
- 1U997 INSERM, Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les Enjeux Sociaux Sciences Sociales Politique Sante, Paris, France
- 2Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France
- 3INED, Paris, France
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Objective: COVID-19 has highlighted significant social disparities in health across the world.The main purpose of this mini review is to synthesize important findings about social inequalities in infection risk and highlight the gaps in current research from an intersectional perspective.Method: This mini literature review builds on peer-reviewed quantitative studies conducted in high-income countries, with a particular focus on France.[R1] It outlines key findings on inequalities across gender, socioeconomic status and ethnoracial background, summarizes methodological approaches, and locates research gaps.Results: Evidence on gender inequalities in infection risk remain mixed. Most studies reported increased risks among marginalized groups, including racialized minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Multivariate regression models were commonly used to estimate infection risk while adjusting for individual and contextual factors in an "all other things equal" perspective. However, no study applied an intersectional framework, limiting comprehensive understanding of the intricate social dynamics of infection disparities. Some studies instead explored intersectional inequalities for outcomes like mortality and mental health during the Covid crisis. For example, a UK study found worse mental health among sexual minorities, females, and younger individuals, and revealed hidden inequalities in social groups combining privilege and disadvantage.: Studies performed on COVID-19 outcomes other than infection do emphasize the added value of incorporating an intersectional perspective into quantitative approaches. Through the use of this framework, future research may guide the development of more targeted and equitable public health interventions to prevent the spread of similar airborne viruses across populations.
Keywords: social inequalities, Intersectionality, Quantitative analyses, COVID-19, France
Received: 06 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 RANI, Bajos and Counil. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: RITU RANI, U997 INSERM, Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les Enjeux Sociaux Sciences Sociales Politique Sante, Paris, France
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