Healthcare Disparities Correlated with In-Hospital Mortality in COVID-19 Patients

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Established risk factors for COVID-19 mortality include advanced age, male gender, African American race, and comorbidities.
• This study investigated health-care disparities contributing to increased mortality among COVID-19 patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify specific demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with higher in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients.
• To examine health-care disparities in COVID-19 outcomes within a large healthcare system.

Main Methods:

• An observational study was conducted on all hospitalized patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• Data were collected from the largest multicenter healthcare system in Southeast Michigan between February and December 2020.

Main Results:

• The study included 11,304 hospitalized patients, with an in-hospital mortality rate of 11.5% (1295 deaths).
• Significant predictors of mortality included older age (AOR=1.05), male gender (AOR=1.43), divorced status (AOR=1.25), disabled status (AOR=1.42), and homemakers (AOR=1.96).

Conclusions:

• Older age, male gender, divorced and disabled status, and homemakers were significantly associated with increased COVID-19 in-hospital mortality.
• Further research is needed to understand the root causes of these disparities in COVID-19 mortality.