According to a UAMS study, one in four adults lost money because of COVID

Little Rock, Arkansas – According to a study by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, one in four American individuals has lost a family member or close friend as a result of COVID-19.

The answers of participants who self-reported the loss of a loved one as a result of COVID-19 were examined as part of the study, COVID-19 Death Exposure Among Adults in the United States.

According to a UAMS news release, other studies have shown that people who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 have also experienced prolonged or complicated grief. They have also shown that people who have experienced the loss of a close relative or friend are more likely to experience physical health problems, as well as higher rates of disability, medication use, hospitalization, and depressive symptoms.

“People who have suffered loss during the pandemic may still be suffering,” said Don E. Willis, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Office of Community Health & Research. “The impact of the pandemic does not end at the point of death, but ripples out across social networks. Even if the last COVID-19 death were to occur tomorrow, the staggering loss of life from the pandemic will likely be impacting the lives and health of the bereaved for many years to come.”

Researchers from UAMS also discovered that those in minority groups, particularly Black people, as well as those who were 60 years of age or older, married couples, or who had skipped treatment because it was too expensive to receive it, had a higher chance of dying from COVID-19.

“This study showed that there have been major racial disparities in exposure to the loss of close friends or family due to COVID-19,” Willis said. “This is critical for understanding how the pandemic may shape health disparities moving forward because unequal death exposure is a contributor to racial health disparities.”

The Arkansas Department of Health reported that 72 percent of Arkansans who died of COVID-19 since February 2021 were not fully protected against the coronavirus and that there have been close to 12,700 deaths in the state as a result of the virus.