Population density, income, and household size partly explain increased odds for COVID-19 positivity in Blacks, Hispanics<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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MONDAY, March 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Black race and Hispanic ethnicity are associated with increased odds of COVID-19 positivity, although the association is substantially mediated by socioeconomic factors, according to a study published online March 16 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society<\/em>.<\/p>\n Hayley B. Gershengorn, M.D., from University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and colleagues evaluated whether socioeconomic factors mediate the association of race\/ethnicity with COVID-19 incidence and outcomes. The analysis included 15,473 adults tested for COVID-19 (cohort 1) and 295 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (cohort 2) between March 1 and July 23, 2020, at the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics.<\/p>\n The researchers found that among those tested, 8.1 percent of adults were COVID-19-positive, and among those hospitalized, 15.9 percent of patients died. Compared with non-Hispanic White individuals, other race\/ethnicity was associated with test positivity (adjusted odds ratios, 3.21, 2.72, and 3.55 for non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic White, and Hispanic Black, respectively). These associations were mediated by population density (percent mediated: 17 percent), median income (27 percent), and household size (20 percent). The study was underpowered, and the investigators were unable to fully evaluate associations between race\/ethnicity and mortality.<\/p>\n “Even if too late for COVID-19, improvements in the social situations of all patients living in more crowded, less well-off communities may pay dividends for their health when the next pandemic, or the next season of influenza, hits,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n