Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

May 28, 2020

Hospitalization and Mortality among Black Patients and White Patients with Covid-19

Category:

Topic:

  • Black patients disproportionately accounted for COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in a Louisiana integrated-delivery health system: 77% of hospitalizations and 71% of deaths were patients who were black, despite black residents comprising only 31% of the total population. Black race was associated with increased odds of hospitalization, even after controlling for age, comorbidities, use of public insurance (e.g. Medicare or Medicaid), residence in a low-income area, and obesity.  
  • Black race was not associated with higher in-hospital mortality compared to white race, after adjustment for differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics on admission. 

Price-Haywood et al. (May 27, 2020). Hospitalization and Mortality among Black Patients and White Patients with Covid-19. The New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa2011686