Volume 28, Number 11—November 2022
Research
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Exposure, Disease Susceptibility, and Clinical Outcomes during COVID-19 Pandemic in National Cohort of Adults, United States
McKaylee M. Robertson
, Meghana G. Shamsunder, Ellen Brazier, Mekhala Mantravadi, Rebecca Zimba, Madhura S. Rane, Drew A. Westmoreland, Angela M. Parcesepe, Andrew R. Maroko, Sarah G. Kulkarni, Christian Grov, and Denis Nash
, Meghana G. Shamsunder, Ellen Brazier, Mekhala Mantravadi, Rebecca Zimba, Madhura S. Rane, Drew A. Westmoreland, Angela M. Parcesepe, Andrew R. Maroko, Sarah G. Kulkarni, Christian Grov, and Denis Nash
Table 2
Measures of potential SARS-CoV-2 exposure, susceptibility to COVID-19 complications, and access to care for Chasing COVID study participants, stratified by race/ethnicity, United States, March 28‒April 20, 2020*
| Variable | Overall, n = 6,740 | Hispanic, n = 1,308 | Black non-Hispanic, n = 899 | Asian/Pacific Islander, n = 465 | White non-Hispanic, n = 3,846 | Other, n = 222 | p value† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measures of potential exposure: inability to impose social distance | |||||||
| Built environment measures | |||||||
| Living in urban area | 2,820 (41.84) | 563 (43.04) | 414 (46.05) | 225 (48.39) | 1,528 (39.73) | 90 (40.54) | 0.001 |
| Living in multidwelling building | 2,636 (39.11) | 505 (38.61) | 416 (46.27) | 202 (43.44) | 1,420 (36.92) | 93 (41.89) | <0.001 |
| Ability to avoid public transportation | 629 (9.33) | 155 (11.85) | 153 (17.02) | 27 (5.81) | 266 (6.92) | 28 (12.61) | <0.001 |
| Median no. measures (IQR) | 1 (0‒2) | 1 (0‒2) | 1 (0‒2) | 1 (0‒2) | 1 (0‒1) | 1 (0‒2) | <0.001 |
| Work-related measures | |||||||
| Unable to work from home | 1,825 (27.08) | 398 (30.43) | 299 (33.26) | 102 (21.94) | 952 (24.75) | 74 (33.33) | <0.001 |
| Will not get paid if at home | 1,585 (23.52) | 364 (27.83) | 263 (29.25) | 110 (23.66) | 781 (20.31) | 67 (30.18) | <0.001 |
| Does not have sick leave | 1,754 (26.02) | 375 (28.67) | 300 (33.37) | 115 (24.73) | 888 (23.09) | 76 (34.23) | <0.001 |
| Could lose job or business if unable to go to work | 1,542 (22.88) | 372 (28.44) | 285 (31.70) | 95 (20.43) | 723 (18.80) | 67 (30.18) | <0.001 |
| Job can only be done in workplace | 2,023 (30.01) | 456 (34.86) | 331 (36.82) | 121 (26.02) | 1,049 (27.28) | 66 (29.73) | <0.001 |
| Essential worker | 588 (8.72) | 116 (8.87) | 84 (9.34) | 38 (8.17) | 329 (8.55) | 21 (9.46) | 0.92 |
| Median no. measures (IQR) | 1 (02) | 1 (0‒3) | 2 (0‒3) | 1 (0‒2) | 0 (0‒2) | 1 (0‒3) | <0.001 |
| Median no. built-environment and work-related measures (IQR) | 2 (1‒3) | 2 (1‒4) | 3 (1‒4) | 2 (1‒3) | 2 (1‒3) | 2 (1‒4) | <0.001 |
| More potential exposure risk: index >2 |
2,596 (38.52) |
601 (45.95) |
462 (51.39) |
166 (35.70) |
1,272 (33.07) |
95 (42.79) |
<0.001 |
| Measures of susceptibility | |||||||
| Age >60 y | 1,027 (15.24) | 76 (5.81) | 54 (6.01) | 22 (4.73) | 847 (22.02) | 28 (12.61) | <0.001 |
| Chronic lung disease | 194 (2.88) | 35 (2.68) | 18 (2.00) | 8 (1.72) | 120 (3.12) | 13 (5.86) | 0.01 |
| Asthma (current) | 752 (11.16) | 143 (10.93) | 108 (12.01) | 34 (7.31) | 429 (11.15) | 38 (17.12) | <0.01 |
| T2 diabetes | 490 (7.27) | 129 (9.86) | 66 (7.34) | 15 (3.23) | 259 (6.73) | 21 (9.46) | <0.001 |
| Serious heart condition | 1,542 (22.88) | 271 (20.72) | 240 (26.7) | 42 (9.03) | 938 (24.39) | 51 (22.97) | <0.001 |
| Kidney disease | 105 (1.56) | 23 (1.76) | 8 (0.89) | 1 (0.22) | 69 (1.79) | 4 (1.8) | 0.04 |
| Immunocompromised | 180 (2.67) | 27 (2.06) | 13 (1.45) | 6 (1.29) | 126 (3.28) | 8 (3.60) | <0.01 |
| HIV | 268 (3.98) | 49 (3.75) | 63 (7.01) | 5 (1.08) | 143 (3.72) | 8 (3.60) | <0.001 |
| Daily smoker | 997 (14.79) | 228 (17.43) | 208 (23.14) | 30 (6.45) | 470 (12.22) | 61 (27.48) | <0.001 |
| Median no. measures (IQR) | 1 (0‒1) | 0 (0‒1) | 1 (0‒1) | 0 (0‒1) | 1 (0‒1) | 1 (0‒2) | <0.001 |
| More susceptible index >1 |
1,453 (21.56) |
238 (18.20) |
202 (22.47) |
30 (6.45) |
924 (24.02) |
59 (26.58) |
<0.001 |
| Measures of healthcare access | |||||||
| Does not have 1 person as doctor | 1,960 (29.08) | 464 (35.47) | 330 (36.71) | 156 (33.55) | 921 (23.95) | 89 (40.09) | <0.001 |
| Did not see doctor due to cost | 1,277 (18.95) | 327 (25.00) | 221 (24.58) | 84 (18.06) | 591 (15.37) | 54 (24.32) | <0.001 |
| Did not see doctor due to immigration | 288 (4.27) | 124 (9.48) | 66 (7.34) | 16 (3.44) | 71 (1.85) | 11 (4.95) | <0.001 |
| No insurance | 1,172 (17.39) | 347 (26.53) | 242 (26.92) | 87 (18.71) | 450 (11.7) | 46 (20.72) | <0.001 |
| Median no. measures (IQR) | 0 (0‒1) | 1 (0‒2) | 1 (0‒2) | 0 (0‒1) | 0 (0‒1) | 1 (0‒1) | <0.001 |
| More barriers to access: index >0 | 3,050 (45.25) | 749 (57.26) | 510 (56.73) | 231 (49.68) | 1,430 (37.18) | 231 (49.68) | <0.001 |
*Values are no. (%) responding yes unless otherwise indicated. Chasing COVID, Communities, Households, and SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology COVID Cohort Study; IQR, interquartile range. †Based on the χ2 test for categorical data or the Kruskal-Wallis test for summative indices.
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