July 23, 2020

No Clear Association Emerges between Intergenerational Relationships and COVID-19 Fatality Rates from Macro-Level Analyses

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

• Intergenerational relationships (e.g., cohabitation and contact between family members of different generations) have been hypothesized to play a role in COVID-19 spread and case fatality. Using data from 19 European counties, Arpino et al. found that at the country level, higher levels of intergenerational relationships are associated with higher COVID-19 case fatality, although the magnitude of the association is small. At the subnational level, an opposite association is often observed. The authors advocate for policies that take into consideration the important instrumental and emotional support that intergenerational ties provide, which may increase compliance to the lockdown and “phase-2” restrictions. 

Arpino et al. (July 22, 2020). No Clear Association Emerges between Intergenerational Relationships and COVID-19 Fatality Rates from Macro-Level Analyses. PNAS. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2008581117