Racial Disparities in Mortality and Readmission Among COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients

We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate racial disparities among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 using electronic health records from a large community-based health care system between March 2020 and February 2021. The primary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and socioeconomic factors were analyzed using logistic regression, with adjusted odds ratios (AOR) reported. The study identified 90,490 patients, including Hispanic (29%), White (45.5%), Black (17.3%), Asian (3.1%), and Others (4.1%). The mortality model demonstrated a strong performance with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.88 (95%CI=0.877-0.885) and a Brier score of 0.093 (95%CI=0.092-0.095). For the 30-day readmission model, the AUC was 0.726 (95%CI=0.717-0.734) with a Brier score of 0.091 (95%CI=0.088-0.093). Compared with Whites, Hispanics exhibited a higher risk of mortality (AOR=1.23; 95%CI=1.16-1.31) but a lower likelihood of readmission (AOR=0.89; 95%CI=0.83-0.97). These findings highlight the critical need for targeted health management strategies across different racial and ethnic groups.