A new study reports that BIPOC individuals who were infected with COVID-19 experienced greater negative aftereffects in health and work loss than did similarly infected white participants.
Despite similar symptom prevalence, Hispanic participants compared to non-Hispanic participants and BIPOC participants compared to white participants had more negative impacts following a COVID-19 infection in terms of health status, activity level and missed work, the authors wrote.
The findings appeared in the journal Frontiers in Public Health. The authors investigated the longer-term impacts of acute COVID-19 infection across ethnic and racial groups. They longitudinally followed 2,402 U.S. individuals first infected between 2020 and 2022.
“We want to understand what is driving these differences, with the goal of advancing health equity after infection,” said lead author Dr. Kelli O’Laughlin, associate professor of emergency medicine and of global health at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
The authors surmised that some of these negative outcomes among BIPOC participants — when compared with those of non-Hispanic and white participants — may be associated with socioeconomic disparities.
“We found that several minority populations reported worse overall health, lower activity levels or more missed work months after infection. While we don’t know what caused these different impacts, we know that these populations can have a harder time accessing health care, which may complicate their recovery,” added Kari Stephens, a professor of family medicine and of biomedical informatics and medical education at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
“Certain demographic groups might be overrepresented in front-line work industries, where they had no option to work from home to reduce their risk of infection,” O’Laughlin said.
Other differences across population groups might stem from the lack of health insurance, mistrust of the medical establishment, cultural or institutional racism, medical deserts, or the lack of safe parks or green spaces where study participants live, she said.
Study participants were asked to record their symptoms from a list of 22, including loss of taste, shortness of breath and sore throat. While the investigators found few symptomatic differences across the groups at three- and six-months after infection, there were significant health effects and work loss among BIPOC populations.
Among the findings:
- Hispanic participants were about twice as likely as non-Hispanic counterparts to self-report fair or poor health and much lower activity levels at three months. These differences, however, were no longer present at six months.
- Compared with white participants, those who identified as “other/multiple race” were nearly twice as likely to report fair or poor health and describe that they were somewhat or much less active at three months. These differences persisted at 6 months. The “other/multiple race” group included individuals identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander or selecting two or more races.
- Compared with white participants, Asian participants’ chances of reporting fair/poor health was similar at three months, but Asian participants were more likely to report fair/poor health at six months.
- Reports of more than five missed workdays was similar across all race groups at three months; at six months, however, reports of missed work were much higher among Black participants (by almost three times) and other/multiple race participants (by more than two times).
The researchers described these differences in the context of accounting for other demographic factors that affect populations, such as social determinants of health, substance use, preexisting health conditions and COVID-19 vaccination status.
“We found a difference in health status by ethnicity and race after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said O’Laughlin.
She and other UW Medicine researchers have been studying the health consequences of COVID-19 under the Innovative Support for Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infections, or INSPIRE, a multisite group funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
O’Laughlin said she hopes the findings will inform effective and equitable health interventions for underserved populations who are still managing the aftereffects of COVID-19 infections.
INSPIRE is a federally funded collaboration of eight major academic medical centers, including UW Medicine, seeking to better understand the long-term effects of COVID-19. The participants self-reported their symptoms in a standardized questionnaire. The INSPIRE group has been studying COVID-19 since the first documented U.S. case was found just outside the Seattle area in January 2020. This is the seventh study released by the group.
This work was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (75D30120C08008).
Utafiti mpya unaripoti kuwa watu wa BIPOC walioambukizwa COVID-19 walipata athari mbaya zaidi katika afya na kupoteza kazi kuliko washiriki weupe walioambukizwa sawa. "Licha ya kuenea kwa dalili sawa, washiriki wa Kihispania ikilinganishwa na washiriki wasio wa Kihispania na washiriki wa BIPOC ikilinganishwa na washiriki weupe walikuwa na athari mbaya zaidi kufuatia maambukizi ya COVID-19 katika suala la hali ya afya, kiwango cha shughuli na kazi iliyopotea. """ Matokeo hayo yalichapishwa katika jarida Frontiers in Public Health. Watafiti walichunguza athari za muda mrefu za maambukizi makali ya COVID-19 katika vikundi vya kikabila na kikabila. Watafiti hao walifuatilia watu 2,402 kutoka Marekani waliopatikana na virusi hivyo kati ya mwaka 2020 na 2022. "Tunataka kuelewa ni nini kinachoendesha tofauti hizi, na lengo la kuendeleza usawa wa afya baada ya maambukizi, ""alisema mwandishi mkuu Dk Kelley O'Laughlin, profesa msaidizi wa matibabu ya dharura na afya ya kimataifa katika Chuo Kikuu cha Washington School of Medicine." Waandishi walidhani kwamba baadhi ya matokeo haya hasi kati ya washiriki wa BIPOC - ikilinganishwa na wale wa washiriki wasio wa Kihispania na weupe - yanaweza kuhusishwa na tofauti za kijamii na kiuchumi. <unk>Tuligundua kwamba idadi kadhaa ya watu wachache waliripoti afya mbaya zaidi kwa ujumla, viwango vya chini vya shughuli au miezi zaidi ya kukosa kazi baada ya maambukizi. "Wakati hatujui nini kilisababisha athari hizi tofauti, tunajua kuwa idadi hii ya watu inaweza kuwa na wakati mgumu kupata huduma za afya, ambayo inaweza kuchanganya uponyaji wao, ""aliongeza Kari Stephens, profesa wa dawa ya familia na wa habari za biomedical na elimu ya matibabu katika Chuo Kikuu cha Washington School of Medicine." "Vikundi fulani vya idadi ya watu vinaweza kuwa na uwakilishi wa juu katika viwanda vya kazi ya mstari wa mbele, ambapo hawakuwa na chaguo la kufanya kazi kutoka nyumbani ili kupunguza hatari yao ya maambukizi, ""O'Laughlin alisema." "Matofali mengine kati ya makundi ya watu yanaweza kutokea kutokana na ukosefu wa bima ya afya, kutokuamini kwa taasisi za matibabu, ubaguzi wa rangi wa kitamaduni au wa taasisi, jangwa la matibabu, au ukosefu wa mbuga salama au maeneo ya kijani ambapo washiriki wa utafiti wanaishi. """ Washiriki wa utafiti huo waliulizwa kurekodi dalili zao kutoka orodha ya dalili 22, ikiwa ni pamoja na kupoteza ladha, kukosa pumzi na maumivu ya koo. Watafiti walipata tofauti chache za dalili kati ya makundi hayo miezi mitatu na sita baada ya maambukizi, lakini kulikuwa na athari kubwa za afya na upotezaji wa kazi kati ya idadi ya watu wa Bipoc. "Washiriki wa Hispania walikuwa karibu mara mbili ya uwezekano kama wenzao wasio Hispanic kujiripoti afya nzuri au mbaya na viwango vya chini zaidi vya shughuli katika miezi mitatu. """ Hata hivyo, tofauti hizo hazikuonekana tena baada ya miezi sita. Ikilinganishwa na washiriki weupe, wale waliojitambulisha kama "mwitu mwingine" walikuwa karibu mara mbili ya uwezekano wa kuripoti afya nzuri au mbaya na kuelezea kwamba walikuwa na shughuli kidogo au kidogo zaidi katika miezi mitatu. Tofauti hizi ziliendelea kwa miezi sita. Kikundi cha "mwisho mwingine" kilijumuisha watu wanaojitambulisha kama Wahindi wa Amerika au Wenyeji wa Alaska, Wenyeji wa Hawaii au Kisiwa cha Pasifiki au kuchagua jamii mbili au zaidi. - Ikilinganishwa na washiriki weupe, nafasi za washiriki wa Asia za kuripoti afya nzuri au mbaya ilikuwa sawa kwa miezi mitatu, lakini washiriki wa Asia walikuwa na uwezekano mkubwa wa kuripoti afya nzuri au mbaya kwa miezi sita. Ripoti za siku zaidi ya tano za kazi zilizopotea zilikuwa sawa katika vikundi vyote vya rangi katika miezi mitatu; kwa miezi sita, hata hivyo, ripoti za kazi zilizopotea zilikuwa kubwa zaidi kati ya washiriki weusi (kwa karibu mara tatu) na washiriki wengine wa rangi nyingi (kwa zaidi ya mara mbili). Watafiti walielezea tofauti hizi katika muktadha wa uhasibu wa sababu zingine za idadi ya watu, kama vile sababu za kijamii za afya, matumizi ya dawa, hali za afya zilizopo na hali ya chanjo ya COVID-19. "Tulipata tofauti katika hali ya afya kulingana na kabila na jamii baada ya maambukizi makali ya SARS-CoV-2,"" alisema O'Laughlin." "Wanafunzi wa Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu cha Chuo Kikuu.""" O'Laughlin alisema anatumaini matokeo hayo yatatoa habari kwa uingiliaji wa afya wenye ufanisi na wa haki kwa idadi ya watu wasio na huduma ambao bado wanashughulikia athari za maambukizi ya COVID-19. INSPIRE ni ushirikiano unaofadhiliwa na serikali ya Marekani wa vituo vikuu nane vya matibabu, ikiwa ni pamoja na UW Medicine, kutafuta kuelewa vizuri athari za muda mrefu za COVID-19. Washiriki walijirifu dalili zao katika fomu ya kuuliza maswali. Kikundi cha INSPIRE kimekuwa kikijifunza COVID-19 tangu kesi ya kwanza iliyoandikwa ya Marekani ilipopatikana nje ya eneo la Seattle mnamo Januari 2020. Hii ni utafiti wa saba uliotolewa na kikundi hicho. Utafiti huo ulifanywa na Kituo cha Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa cha Marekani (CDC) na Kituo cha Kitaifa cha Chanjo na Magonjwa ya Kupumua (NICI) cha Marekani (DTC30820C0808).