AHA News: Black Hispanics Hospitalized Disproportionately Highly Due to COVID-19-Consumer Health News

Tuesday, November 17, 2020 (American Heart Association News)-A new study found that blacks and Hispanics accounted for nearly 60% of COVID-19 hospitalizations. This is a disproportionate number that researchers attribute to social structures that strengthen racial and ethnic health inequalities. group.

The study examined data from 7,868 patients admitted with COVID-19 from January 17 to July 22 at 88 US hospitals participating in the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry. .. Hispanic and black patients had an imbalanced risk of landing in the hospital. 33% were Hispanic, 25.5% were black, 6.3% were Asian, and 35.2% were white.

However, according to US Census Bureau data on postal codes where participating hospitals are located, Hispanics make up only 9% of the local population and blacks make up 10.6%. Asians, on the other hand, make up 4.7% of the local population and non-Hispanic whites make up 59.3%.

Black and Hispanic patients, once hospitalized, did not appear to die at a higher rate. The researchers also found no racial or ethnic differences in the proportion of cases of heart attack, stroke, or heart failure among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Blacks and Hispanics accounted for more than half (53%) of all COVID-19 deaths.

Very few patients were Native Americans or Alaskan natives and were not included in the findings.

“Our findings need to focus on the structural reasons for high viral infection and hospitalization rates in black and Hispanic patients to address the COVID-19 burden gap between vulnerable patient groups. It suggests that there is, “said Dr. Fatima Rodriguez. Lead author of a study funded by AHA.

The findings were presented at the AHA Virtual Science Session Conference on Tuesday and at the same time published in the journal Circulation.

In this study, Hispanic and black COVID-19 patients were fairly young, with median ages of 57 and 60, respectively, while Caucasians were 69 and Asians were 64. They were also more often uninsured. Black patients had the highest prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, and the highest rates of hospitalized ventilators and renal dialysis.

“COVID-19 affects disproportionately in hispanic and black patients, but the location where the patient was treated may explain more of the difference in outcome than the race / ethnicity of the inpatient. “” Said Rodriguez, a cardiologist and health inequality researcher at Stanford Medicine in California. Studies have shown that the probability of death in one patient was 99% higher in one hospital than in similar patients treated in another.

Overall mortality appears to have declined in the last few months of the pandemic. A new study found that 18.4% of COVID-19 patients died in hospitals between January and July. According to another study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the mortality rate for COVID-19 in New York City hospitals was 25.6% in March, compared to 7.6% in August.

Rodriguez said the results are limited by data from hospitals that “overestimate urban and large academic teaching hospitals and the findings may not be generalized to other parts of the United States.” Said.

She called for future research to investigate why so many black and Hispanic people are hospitalized for COVID-19 and how certain hospitals affect patient outcomes. She also wants to see future studies on fares after COVID-19 patients are discharged.

Dr. Orazide Williams, who was not involved in the study, called it “an important study that identified a significant COVID-19 disparity in hospitalization.”

“The truth is, I wasn’t surprised by any of the findings,” said Williams, director of neurology at the New York Presbyterian Church / Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.

“This is to re-tell the story through a lens that resonates with people because COVID is so close to all our lives,” he said. “Our battle is downstream of medical trenches, but war can only be won upstream against social determinants of health. This includes greater support, more community participation, and more. We need to rethink healthcare through a more holistic lens. “

American Heart Association News Covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyrighted by American Heart Association, Inc. Owned or owned by, and all rights are reserved. If you have any questions or comments about this story, please email [email protected].

Thor Christensen