Once hospitalized, Black patients with COVID-19 have lower risk of death than white

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/nlh-ohb120420.php

 

News Release 4-Dec-2020
NYU Langone Health / NYU School of Medicine

 

While multiple research studies show that Black and Hispanic patients are more likely to test positive for COVID-19, a team of investigators at NYU Langone Health has found that once hospitalized, Black patients (after controlling for other serious health conditions and neighborhood income) were less likely to have severe illness, die, or be discharged to hospice compared to White patients.


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"We know that Black and Hispanic populations account for a disproportionate share of COVID-19-related deaths relative to their population size in New York and major cities across the country," says Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MPH, Dr. Adolph and Margaret Berger Professor of Medicine and Population Health at NYU Langone Health, and the study's lead author. "We were, however, surprised to find that Black and Hispanic patients were no more likely to be hospitalized across NYU Langone than White patients, which means we need to look at other structural factors at play that are negatively affecting outcomes in these communities. These factors include poor housing conditions, unequal access to health care, differential employment opportunities, and poverty--and they must be addressed," says Ogedegbe, who is also director of NYU Langone's Institute for Excellence in Health Equity.

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