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A Profile of COVID-19 in Ireland - Using Census 2016 Household Data to Analyse COVID-19 Waves, March 2020 - May 2021

Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates

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Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates

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The Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rate is the rate of incidence of COVID-19 in a population adjusted to a standard age distribution. Variations in the age distribution of the population from one area (or status) to another affects the comparability of incidence rates between areas. Therefore, crude incidence rates are not directly comparable. For this reason, we calculate the Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rate, a synthetic measure which does allow for comparison of incidence rates.

The key findings are:

Overall, the Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates increased dramatically across the three waves.

The standardised Confirmed Incidence Rate increased dramatically from 570 to 3,874 per 100,000 population between waves 1 and 3.

Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates were higher in females than in males in all three waves.

The rates were higher for females in all three waves. In wave 3, the rate per 100,000 population was 3,978 for females compared to 3,768 for males.

The Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates varies by region and by wave - the highest rates were in Dublin in wave 1, in the Border in wave 2 and in Dublin in wave 3.

The most affluent areas had higher Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates in wave 1, with a rate of 655 per 100,000 population in the most affluent quintile compared with 499 in the most deprived. This pattern reversed in wave 2, with a rate of 781 in the most affluent quintile compared with 1,055 in the most deprived. By wave 3, the rates were similar in the most affluent quintile (3,907) and the most deprived (3,874).

In Dublin, the most deprived areas had the highest Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rate in waves 1, 2 and 3.

People with a disability had a slightly higher incidence rate in wave 1 at 569 per 100,000 population compared with 537 for those with no disability. In waves 2 and 3, the rates were higher for people with no disability, with a rate of 3,803 for people with no disability in wave 3 compared with 3,214 for those with a disability.

Table 5.1 COVID-19 Standardised Confirmed Incidence Rates (per 100,000 of population) ^1,2,3,4,5
	Males			Females			All persons
	Wave 1	Wave 2	Wave 3	Wave 1	Wave 2	Wave 3	Wave 1	Wave 2	Wave 3
All persons	496	963	3,768	644	965	3,978	570	964	3,874

by NUTS-3 region
Border	449	1,372	4,105	667	1,319	4,387	556	1,343	4,246
West	285	795	3,231	345	817	3,429	314	806	3,330
Mid-West	295	877	3,543	368	880	3,778	330	879	3,661
South-East	186	696	3,680	257	680	4,007	222	688	3,846
South-West	253	853	2,808	283	859	3,080	269	858	2,948
Dublin	873	1,032	4,614	1,100	1,067	4,726	987	1,050	4,668
Mid-East	545	1,104	3,758	770	1,043	3,916	662	1,073	3,837
Midlands	605	903	3,266	604	916	3,401	605	911	3,336

by Area of deprivation (quintiles)

First quintile (least deprived)	587	793	3,845	718	769	3,967	655	781	3,907
Second	510	953	3,747	701	971	4,099	607	963	3,925
Third	471	961	4,092	644	976	4,408	556	969	4,250
Fourth	490	1,085	3,942	635	1,090	4,293	563	1,086	4,118
Fifth quintile (most deprived)	452	1,059	3,768	545	1,052	3,978	499	1,055	3,874

by Area of deprivation (quintiles) Outside Dublin and Dublin

Outside Dublin
First quintile (least deprived)	383	871	3,050	431	827	3,013	410	849	3,029
Second	349	875	3,287	492	879	3,437	422	879	3,363
Third	358	917	3,468	489	927	3,865	423	922	3,670
Fourth	397	1,054	3,804	511	1,036	4,112	455	1,044	3,957
Fifth quintile (most deprived)	332	961	3,501	378	921	3,755	354	940	3,628

Dublin
First quintile (least deprived)	737	732	3,564	928	719	3,531	835	726	3,546
Second	956	1,174	5,396	1,237	1,229	5,397	1,097	1,202	5,399
Third	1,033	1,181	5,148	1,341	1,213	5,203	1,180	1,199	5,164
Fourth	1,018	1,269	5,694	1,298	1,375	5,954	1,161	1,319	5,827
Fifth quintile (most deprived)	885	1,354	5,261	1,083	1,414	5,798	987	1,383	5,528

Usually resident persons present in the State on Census Night
by Disability status ⁶
Disability	513	798	3,153	618	793	3,260	569	797	3,214
No Disability/Not Stated	471	965	3,793	602	967	4,010	537	966	3,903
¹ All data is based on CIDR data as of the 12th May 2021
² All standardised COVID mortality and detected incidence rates are provisional and may be subject to further revision.
³ The above analysis is based on a 70% match rate between CIDR records and the Census of Population 2016 for Deprivation quintile calculations. For remaining records, an allocation process was used.
⁴Detected incidence rates for COVID are standardised incidence rates based on recorded CIDR cases. They do not reflect undiagnosed cases as of 12th May 2021
⁵ Deprivation quintiles are based on the estimated deprivation in the Census of Population 2016 small areas. A high deprivation quintile will have prosperous households and vice-versa, so care must be taken in interpreting these figures as applying to groups of individuals and should not be interpreted as a precise representation of individual person or individual household deprivation levels.
⁶ Disability is defined here as those in the Census of Population with a disability only.