British South Asians at greater risk with the second COVID wave find new research-The New Indian Express

Along PTI

London: Common minority groups, especially South Asians, test positive for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19-related hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalizations, and deaths during the second wave of the pandemic. There was a high risk of becoming. Compared to the first in the UK, according to a new observational study of 17 million people.

A study led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet explains a number of explanatory variables such as household size, social factors, and health status across all ethnic groups. Did. Various stages of COVID-19, from testing to death.

“The South Asian group remained at high risk of positive testing because the relative risk of hospitalization, ICU admission, and death was greater in the second wave compared to the first wave,” the study found. I am.

Compared to the first wave of last year, the second wave of the pandemic earlier this year tested positive, hospitalization, ICU admission, and death in all ethnic minority communities except the South and all but whites. It turns out that the relative risk of was small. Asian Group-Covering Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshi.

“Despite the improvements seen in most ethnic minority groups in the second wave compared to the first wave, we are concerned that inequality has widened among South Asian groups. This is a need for the United Kingdom. It highlights the urgent need to find effective preventative measures that suit the needs of the population. Ethnically diverse populations. ” Dr. Rohini Mathur of LSHTM and the lead author of the study.

After considering age and gender, social deprivation was the largest potential account of inequality in all ethnic minority groups except South Asia. In the South Asian group, health factors such as body mass index, blood pressure, and underlying health played a major role in explaining the excess risk of all outcomes.

Household size was an important account of the COVID-19 mortality inequality in South Asian groups only.

Dr. Matur said: “”

“It is increasingly important to co-design culturally competent and non-stimulating engagement strategies with these communities in the light of new evidence that ethnic minority groups are unlikely to be vaccinated with COVID-19. It has become.

On behalf of NHS England, the research team uses a new secure OpenSAFELY data analysis platform to analyze partially anonymized electronic health data collected by general practitioners (GPs), who cover 40% of the UK. did.

These GP records were linked to other national coronavirus-related datasets for the first and second waves of the pandemic. This includes testing, hospital data, and mortality records. Ethnicity was self-reported by GP record participants, grouped into 5 census categories (white, South Asia, black, and mixed), and further grouped into 16 subgroups.

“Ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom are unbalanced by factors that increase the risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes, such as living in poor areas, front-line work, and poor access to health care. “Dr. Mathur said.

“Our study shows that even after considering many of these factors, the risk of positives, hospitalization, ICU admission and death was still higher in ethnic minority groups compared to whites in the United Kingdom.” She said.

“To improve the outcome of COVID-19, we need to address the broader disadvantages and structural racism faced by these communities, improve access to care and reduce infections. There is, “she said.

The authors warn that there are some limitations to the study, including the inability to capture all potential explanatory variables such as occupation, health-related behavior, and experience of racism and structural discrimination.

They call for improving the integrity of ethnic records in health data to further support the implementation of quality research to address health inequality since COVID-19.

This study, considered the largest of its type, was funded by the British Medical Research Council and conducted by scientists from university groups such as LSHTM and Oxford University and the National Institutes of Health.