Nationwide study shows disparities in COVID-19 infection for Black and Hispanic people
Findings highlight need for anti-outbreak strategies tailored to minority communities

Date:
September 22, 2020
Source:
PLOS
Summary:
A study of around 5.8 million people who receive care from the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) found that Black
and Hispanic people were substantially more likely than their
White counterparts to test positive for COVID-19, although no
differences in 30-day mortality were observed between these groups.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A study of around 5.8 million people who receive care from the United
States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) found that Black and Hispanic
people were substantially more likely than their White counterparts to
test positive for COVID-19, although no differences in 30-day mortality
were observed between these groups. Christopher Rentsch, Assistant
Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and VA investigator, worked alongside colleagues from VA sites across the
U.S. to present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine
on September 22, 2020.


========================================================================== Previous research suggests that people from racial and ethnic
minority backgrounds are at greater risk of severe or deadly cases
of COVID-19. However, most studies of these disparities have only
investigated patients who had already tested positive or who were
hospitalized. Understanding disparities in who was tested and whether
they tested positive could help inform efforts to reduce the burden of
COVID-19 in minority communities.

To improve understanding of testing disparities, Rentsch and colleagues investigated statistical associations between 5.8 million VA patients'
race/ ethnicity and their detailed medical records (the VA comprises more
than 1,200 points-of-care nationally including hospitals, medical centers,
and community outpatient clinics, with around nine million individuals accessing VA care each year), including COVID-19 testing records from
February 8 through July 22, 2020. 91% of participants were male; 7%
were of Hispanic ethnicity, 19% were Black and 74% were White.

Over 250,000 of the patients studied received a COVID-19 test during
the study period, 16,317 tested positive, and 1,057 died within 30 days
of testing. Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to receive a
test and were more likely to test positive than White patients, even
when accounting for other demographics underlying medical conditions
and geographic location (Black vs White adjusted Odds Ratio 1.93, 95%
CI 1.85-2.01, p<0.001; Hispanic vs White 1.84, 1.74-1.94, p<0.001).

For positive test rates, the disparity between White and Black patients
was greatest in the Midwest and decreased slightly overall during the
study. The positive-test disparity between Hispanic and White patients
was consistent across regions and over time. Among the cohort of 5.8
million people, although those from minority backgrounds appeared to
have a higher burden of COVID-19, for those who tested positive, no
racial or ethnic disparities in 30-day death rates were seen.

These findings suggest that Black and Hispanic individuals experience
a disproportionate risk of COVID-19 infection, even when accounting for
where they live and underlying medical conditions. The authors call for
urgent state- and local-level strategies to reduce COVID-19 spread in
minority communities.

Dr. Rentsch says: "Minority individuals who received a positive
COVID-19 test did not appear to have worse outcomes. However, Black
and Hispanic individuals were still twice as likely to testing positive
for COVID-19, even after accounting for underlying health conditions,
other demographics, and geographic location. Taken together, these
findings suggest a substantial excess burden of COVID-19 infection
in US minority communities." He adds: "Understanding what is driving
these disparities is vital so that strategies can be tailored to curb
the disproportionate epidemics in minority communities...going forward,
we are exploring whether racial and ethnic disparities exist at other
key stages in the clinical course of COVID-19, from hospitalization to intubation. We appeal to other researchers who have the necessary testing
data to investigate disparities in testing and testing positive. This
will provide essential information to design effective interventions."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by PLOS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Christopher T. Rentsch, Farah Kidwai-Khan, Janet P. Tate, Lesley
S. Park,
Joseph T. King Jr, Melissa Skanderson, Ronald G. Hauser, Anna
Schultze, Christopher I. Jarvis, Mark Holodniy, Vincent Lo Re III,
Kathleen M.

Akgu"n, Kristina Crothers, Tamar H. Taddei, Matthew S. Freiberg,
Amy C.

Justice. Patterns of COVID-19 testing and mortality
by race and ethnicity among United States veterans: A
nationwide cohort study. PLOS Medicine, Sept. 22, 2020; DOI:
10.1371/journal.pmed.1003379 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200922144325.htm

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