Work

Community-level Health and Socioeconomic Disparities in Coccidioidomycosis: Insights from the Social Deprivation and Healthy Places Indices

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) is endemic to California's Central Valley, a region marked by socioeconomic disadvantage and health disparities. We retrospectively reviewed 72 adults with new or active disease seen at a tertiary referral center between January and June 2022. Nearly all patients lived in areas with high Social Deprivation Index and low Healthy Places Index (HPI) scores (assigned by residential ZIP code), reflecting marked neighborhood-level disadvantage. Over half required hospitalization and one-third developed complicated pulmonary or disseminated disease. Lower HPI scores were modestly associated with hospitalization, suggesting community disadvantage may contribute to Valley Fever disparities.

Source: Medical Mycology

DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myag001

Authors: Nikhil Nair, Eshana Kaur, Pavel Diaz, Alec Chan Golston, Geetha Sivasubramanian

Institutions: University of California, Merced, Madurai Medical College, University of California, San Francisco

Language: English

Topic: Fungal Infections and Studies

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,889