There is a scarcity of data on the features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients broken down by race/ethnicity. The researchers looked at the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients from different racial/ethnic groups and looked at how these correlated with COVID-19 results. Between March 1 and December 31, 2020, 629,953 people were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a large health system spanning California, Oregon, and Washington. Electronic health records were used to acquire sociodemographic and clinical data. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 hospitalization, and in-hospital death. A total of 570,298 patients with known race/ethnicity were tested for SARS-CoV-2, with non-White minorities accounting for 27.8% of the total: 54,645 people tested positive, with minorities accounting for 50.1%. Hispanics accounted for 34.3% of all illnesses but just 13.4% of all tests. Hispanic patients exhibited greater rates of diabetes but fewer additional comorbidities than White patients while being on average younger. A total of 8,536 patients were admitted to the hospital, and 1,246 died, with non-White patients accounting for 56.1% and 54.4%, respectively. State-level statistics were used to track racial/ethnic distributions of outcomes across the health system. All minority races/ethnicities were linked to an increased risk of testing positive and hospitalization. Patients had higher rates of morbidity, and Hispanic race/ethnicity was linked to higher rates of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14–1.70). There were significant healthcare disparities, particularly among Hispanics, who tested positive at a higher rate, required more hospitalization and mechanical breathing, and had a higher risk of in-hospital mortality despite being younger. To address the higher risk of inferior COVID-19 results among minority communities, targeted, culturally appropriate interventions, as well as equitable vaccine development and distribution, are required.
Link:academic.oup.com/cid/article/73/12/2193/6145124
