| Title: | Explaining Ethnic Differentials in COVID-19 Mortality: A Cohort Study |
| Journal: | American Journal of Epidemiology |
| Published: | 29 Sep 2021 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34587623/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwab237 |
| URL: | https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-pdf/191/2/275/42273935/kwab237.pdf |
| Citations: | 19 (13 in last 2 years) as of 8 Aug 2024 |
Publication 4827
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Abstract
Ethnic inequalities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations and mortality have been widely reported, but there is scant understanding of how they are embodied. The UK Biobank prospective cohort study comprises approximately half a million people who were aged 40-69 years at study induction, between 2006 and 2010, when information on ethnic background and potential explanatory factors was captured. Study members were prospectively linked to a national mortality registry. In an analytical sample of 448,664 individuals (248,820 women), 705 deaths were ascribed to COVID-19 between March 5, 2020, and January 24, 2021. In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, relative to White participants, Black study members experienced approximately 5 times the risk of COVID-19 mortality (odds ratio (OR) = 4.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.28, 7.05), while there was a doubling in the South Asian group (OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.30, 3.25). Controlling for baseline comorbidities, social factors (including socioeconomic circumstances), and lifestyle indices attenuated this risk differential by 34% in Black study members (OR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.91, 4.23) and 37% in South Asian individuals (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 0.97, 2.55). The residual risk of COVID-19 deaths in ethnic minority groups may be ascribed to a range of unmeasured characteristics and requires further exploration.</p>
5 Authors
- G David Batty
- Bamba Gaye
- Catharine R Gale
- Mark Hamer
- Camille Lassale
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