A Retrospective Community Perspective: Bridging the Health Disparity Gap with Obesity as the Leading Comorbidity in Disparities in Health Outcomes in the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Odiase PeaceHenry TerryAmita BangaKartik RachakondaAmar P GargGirish RachakondaPublished in: Research square (2023)
COVID-19 is a viral infection that resulted in a global pandemic. In the United States, COVID-19 caused incommensurate deaths, especially among members of minority groups. Previous literature shows comorbidities such as hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus (DM) and obesity (OBS) have been implicated in the severity of COVID-19 cases regardless of racial or ethnic group classification. However, minority populations, particularly people of African descent experienced higher mortality as they carry a disproportionately heavier burden in comorbidities cases. In this study we first confirm current literature on COVID-19 incidence and its correlation with the prevalence of comorbidities in various racial and ethnic populations, using anonymous and aggregated data from the Nashville General Hospital at Meharry, an Institute for the Study of Minority Health. We also evaluated the prevalence of comorbidities in minority patients and computed the correlation between the COVID-19 incidence and a permuted prevalence of comorbidities. A total of 959 patients were reviewed and our study indicates COVID-19 patients classified as Non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB) were approximately 3 times more likely to have an HTN or DM or both HTN and DM diagnosis. The chances double to be approximately six times higher when an OBS diagnosis is included singularly or in conjunction with either HTN or DM or both HTN and DM.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- coronavirus disease
- risk factors
- end stage renal disease
- healthcare
- ejection fraction
- mental health
- public health
- systematic review
- type diabetes
- chronic kidney disease
- metabolic syndrome
- machine learning
- glycemic control
- prognostic factors
- blood pressure
- weight loss
- peritoneal dialysis
- magnetic resonance imaging
- emergency department
- patient reported
- patient reported outcomes
- health information
- coronary artery disease
- skeletal muscle
- health insurance
- big data
- high fat diet induced
- drug induced