Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Hospitalization and In-hospital Mortality at the Height of the New York City Pandemic

Objectives Investigate whether or not race is associated with differences in hospitalization and survival to discharge among patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) at the height of the pandemic in New York City (NYC). Methods Single-center retrospective cohort study of COVID-19 patients hospitalized at our university-affiliated NYC hospital from 3/10/20 through 4/13/20 with follow-up to 5/1/20. Our primary endpoint was hospitalization rate among patients with confirmed COVID-19 compared with the regional population based on race. Our secondary endpoint survival to discharge among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. NYC Department of Health data were used to calculate hospitalization odds ratios. Chi-square andttests were used to compare categorial and continuous variables, respectively. Cox proportional hazards regression and predictive analysis were used to investigate our endpoints further. Results Our cohort of 734 patients included 355 women (48.4%), 372 Blacks (50.7%), 214 Whites (29.2%), and 92 Hispanics (12.5%) in our analysis. Blacks were nearly twice as likely as Whites to require hospitalization for COVID-19 (OR 1.89, 95% CI, 1.59-2.24,p < 0.001). Hispanics were also more likely to suffer in-hospital mortality from COVID-19 compared with Whites (HR 1.84; 95% CI 1.21-2.80;p = 0.005). There was a non-significant increased hazard of in-hospital mortality among Blacks when compared with Whites (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.95-1.78;p = 0.09). Conclusions and Relevance Blacks were more likely than Whites to require hospitalization for COVID-19 while Hispanics were more likely to experience in-hospital mortality. Further investigation into the socioeconomic factors underlying racial disparities in COVID-19 survival and severity requiring hospitalization is needed on a national scale.

Automated summary

Race is associated with differences in hospitalization and survival to discharge among COVID-19 patients in New York City, with Blacks more likely to require hospitalization and Hispanics more likely to experience in-hospital mortality. Further investigation into the socioeconomic factors underlying these disparities on a national scale is needed.