Racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes exist despite comparable Elixhauser comorbidity indices between Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Whites

Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 22;11(1):8738. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-88308-2.

Abstract

Factors contributing to racial inequities in outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain poorly understood. We compared by race the risk of 4 COVID-19 health outcomes--maximum length of hospital stay (LOS), invasive ventilation, hospitalization exceeding 24 h, and death--stratified by Elixhauser comorbidity index (ECI) ranking. Outcomes and ECI scores were constructed from retrospective data obtained from the Cerner COVID-19 De-Identified Data cohort. We hypothesized that racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes would exist despite comparable ECI scores among non-Hispanic (NH) Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), and NH Whites. Compared with NH Whites, NH Blacks had longer hospital LOS, higher rates of ventilator dependence, and a higher mortality rate; AI/ANs, higher odds of hospitalization for ECI = 0 but lower for ECI ≥ 5, longer LOS for ECI = 0, a higher risk of death across all ECI categories except ECI ≥ 5, and higher odds of ventilator dependence; Hispanics, a lower risk of death across all ECI categories except ECI = 0, lower odds of hospitalization, shorter LOS for ECI ≥ 5, and higher odds of ventilator dependence for ECI = 0 but lower for ECI = 1-4. Our findings contest arguments that higher comorbidity levels explain elevated COVID-19 death rates among NH Blacks and AI/ANs compared with Hispanics and NH Whites.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • American Indian or Alaska Native / statistics & numerical data*
  • Black or African American / statistics & numerical data*
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology*
  • COVID-19 / mortality
  • Female
  • Health Status Disparities
  • Hispanic or Latino / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Length of Stay
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Respiration, Artificial / statistics & numerical data
  • Retrospective Studies
  • United States / ethnology
  • White People / statistics & numerical data*