Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality in the United States

Background: Pandemic has arised differences on COVID-19 outcomes among racial and ethnic groups. The objective was to assess differences in mortality by race and ethnic among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States (US). Methods: This is a retrospective case series study with information extracted from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between January 20 and December, 2020. Clinical and sociodemographic data were analysed from non-hospitalized and hospitalized patients with COVID-19 by race and ethnic. Binary logistic models were fitted to evaluate factors associated with COVID-19-related mortality. Findings: A total of 434,076 patients with COVID-19 were characterised; 284,574 cases were Non-Hispanic White, 10,468 cases were Non-Hispanic Asian, 949,022 cases were Non-Hispanic Black, and 89,407 cases were Hispanic/Latino. For non-hospitalized patients, Hispanic/Latino with pneumonia (OR 3.34, 95%CI: 1.70-6.58), and Non-Hispanic Asian with comorbidities (OR 3.88, 95%CI: 0.99-15.2) had the highest odds for mortality. For hospitalized patients, Non-Hispanic Black with comorbidities (OR 3.02, 95%CI: 2.24-4.08), and Non-Hispanic Asian and Non-Hispanic Black with pneumonia (OR 2.98, 95%CI: 2.09-4.26; and OR 2.97, 95%CI: 2.60-3.38, respectively) had the highest odds for mortality. Interpretation: Racial/ethnic disparities on mortality persist among patients with COVID-19 in the US. These findings support the assertion that racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in the US. Funding Information: This work did not receive funds. Declaration of Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was an analysis of secondary data. The approval of an institutional ethics committee was not required.