COVID-19 and geographical area of origin

To describe and compare the main clinical characteristics and outcome measures in hospitalized patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) according to geographical area of origin.

A retrospective analysis of patients hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 at a referral centre in Madrid, Spain, during March-May 2020 was performed. Recorded variables (age, gender, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, outcome), and geographical area of origin were compared for Europeans and non-Europeans (Latin Americans, Asians and Africans).

In total, 2345 patients with confirmed COVID-19 hospitalized during the study period were included in the study. Of these, 1956 (83.4%) were European and 389 (16.6%) were non-European (of whom over 90%, 354/389, were Latin American). Non-Europeans were significantly younger than Europeans (mean 54 (SD 13.5) versus 70.4 (SD 15.1) years, p < 0.001); the majority were male (1420/2345, 60.6%), with no significant differences in gender between Europeans and non-Europeans (1197/1956 (61.2%) male in the European group versus 223/389 (57.3%) male in the non-European group, p 0.15). In-hospital mortality overall was higher in Europeans (443/1956, 22.7%) than in non-Europeans (40/389, 10.3%) (p < 0.001), but there were no significant differences when adjusted for age/gender (OR 1.27, 95% CI 0.86-1.88). Non-Europeans were more frequently admitted to ICU (71/389, 18.3%) compared with Europeans (187/1956, 9.6%) (p < 0.001) and a difference in ICU admission rate was also found when adjusted for age/gender (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.03-1.98).

No significant differences in mortality were observed between Europeans and non-Europeans (mainly Latin Americans), but an increase in ICU admission rate was found in non-Europeans.