COVID-19 and ethnicity: Does reduced responsiveness to glucocorticoids explain the more aggressive nature of disease among minorities?

Abhinav Karan; Kabeer Ali; Kirin Rambaran; Pedro Del Corral; Sateesh Sakhamuri; Surujpal Teelucksingh

doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110220

COVID-19 and ethnicity: Does reduced responsiveness to glucocorticoids explain the more aggressive nature of disease among minorities?

Med Hypotheses. 2020 Nov:144:110220. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110220. Epub 2020 Aug 27.

Authors

Abhinav Karan¹, Kabeer Ali¹, Kirin Rambaran², Pedro Del Corral³, Sateesh Sakhamuri⁴, Surujpal Teelucksingh¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
² Thoracic Medical Department, Caura Hospital, Trinidad and Tobago.
³ Department of Physiology and Pathology, Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, Las Cruces, NM, USA.
⁴ Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. Electronic address: sateesh.sakhamuri@sta.uwi.edu.

Abstract

Marked ethnic variations in complications and mortality have been noted following infection with COVID-19, with Black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups (BAME) being particularly hard hit. We hypothesise that glucocorticoid resistance stemming from several intrinsic reasons such as chronic social stress and lower circulating levels of Vitamin D may contribute to the exaggerated inflammatory response, more severe disease and poorer outcomes observed in BAME.

MeSH terms

Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use
Asian People
Black People
COVID-19 / complications
COVID-19 / epidemiology
COVID-19 Drug Treatment*
Drug Resistance
Ethnicity
Glucocorticoids / therapeutic use*
Humans
Minority Groups*
Models, Biological
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2
Severity of Illness Index
Stress, Psychological / complications

Substances

Anti-Inflammatory Agents
Glucocorticoids