COVID-19 mortality among Massachusetts workers and the association with telework ability, 2020.

BACKGROUND: Working outside the home put some workers at risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure and might partly explain elevated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates in the first months of the pandemic in certain groups of Massachusetts workers. To further investigate this premise, we examined COVID-19 mortality among Massachusetts workers, with a specific focus on telework ability based on occupation. METHODS: COVID-19-associated deaths between January 1 and December 31, 2020 among Massachusetts residents aged 18-64 years were analyzed. Deaths were categorized into occupation-based quadrants (Q) of telework ability. Age-adjusted rates were calculated by key demographics, industry, occupation, and telework quadrant using American Community Survey workforce estimates as denominators. Rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals comparing rates for quadrants with workers unlikely able to telework (Q2, Q3, Q4) to that among those likely able to telework (Q1) were calculated. RESULTS: The overall age-adjusted COVID-19-associated mortality rate was 26.4 deaths per 100,000 workers. Workers who were male, Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, born outside the US, and with lower than a high school education level experienced the highest rates among their respective demographic groups. The rate varied by industry, occupation and telework quadrant. RRs comparing Q2, Q3, and Q4 to Q1 were 0.99 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.8-1.2), 3.2 (95% CI: 2.6-3.8) and 2.5 (95% CI: 2.0-3.0), respectively. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest a positive association between working on-site and COVID-19-associated mortality. Work-related factors likely contributed to COVID-19 among Massachusetts workers and should be considered in future studies of COVID-19 and similar diseases.

Fatal and Nonfatal Overdose Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Massachusetts.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate fatal and nonfatal opioid overdose events in pregnant and postpartum women in Massachusetts, comparing rates in individuals receiving and not receiving pharmacotherapy for opioid use disorder (OUD). METHODS: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using linked administrative and vital statistics databases in Massachusetts to identify women with evidence of OUD who delivered a liveborn neonate in 2012-2014. We described maternal sociodemographic, medical, and substance use characteristics, computed rates of opioid overdose events in the year before and after delivery, and compared overdose rates by receipt of pharmacotherapy with methadone or buprenorphine in the prenatal and postpartum periods. RESULTS: Among 177,876 unique deliveries, 4,154 (2.3%) were to women with evidence of OUD in the year before delivery, who experienced 242 total opioid-related overdose events (231 nonfatal, 11 fatal) in the year before or after delivery. The overall overdose rate was 8.0 per 100,000 person-days. Overdoses were lowest in the third trimester (3.3/100,000 person-days in the third trimester) and then increased in the postpartum period with the highest overdose rate 7-12 months after delivery (12.3/100,000 person-days). Overall, 64.3% of women with evidence of OUD in the year before delivery received any pharmacotherapy in the year before delivery. Women receiving pharmacotherapy had reduced overdose rates in the early postpartum period. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women in Massachusetts have high rates of OUD. The year after delivery is a vulnerable period for women with OUD. Additional longitudinal supports and interventions tailored to women in the first year postpartum are needed to prevent and reduce overdose events.