Home⇛Health Sciences Journal⇛vol. 11 no. 1 (2022)

The correlation of population, population density, age, and sex to the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 among local government units in the National Capital Region

Ron Carlo C. Vedan | Alixson M. Velasquez | Nina Patricia S. Ventura | Estrella Natalia O. Vigo | Cristina P. Villanueva | Crizelle Keith G. Villanueva | Geneve S. Villareal | Kimberly Anne D. Wee | Victor Antonio F. Yañga | Krista Mari P. Yap | Ally Norr G. Yee | Dan H. Zambrano III | Rik James S. Zantua | Leopoldo P. Sison Jr.

 

Abstract:

Introduction The NCR had amassed 752,668 cases of COVID-19 as of September 2021, the highest among the regions in the Philippines. This study aimed to determine the correlation between population, population density, age, and sex with the number of cases among local government units (LGU) in the National Capital Region (NCR). Methods The data for population, population density, age, and sex distribution of the LGUs of NCR were retrieved from the 2015 Philippine census while the data for cases were from DOH’s COVID-19 Tracker. Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to determine the correlation between population, population density and cases. Phi and Cramer’s V statistic were computed to determine associations between sex, age groups, and cases. Results There was little or no correlation between population density and number of cases (r = 0.236) but was good (r = 0.905) when Quezon City was excluded for being an outlier. There was good correlation between population and number of cases (r = 964, p < 0.001). There was very weak to no association between sex and number of COVID-19 cases. There was a statistically significant moderate association between age and COVID-19 cases (f = 0.145, p < 0.001). Conclusion The study has shown that population density and population have a good correlation with the number of COVID-19 after Quezon City was removed as a data point. There is a moderate association between age and number of COVID-19 cases. There is a very weak to no association between sex and COVID-19 cases.



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