Association of Race and Ethnicity With Comorbidities and Survival Among Patients With COVID-19 at an Urban Medical Center in New York

Key Points Question Does the presentation of comorbidities in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) differ by race/ethnicity, and is there a difference in case fatality rates among ethnic and racial groups when controlling for key risk factors? Findings In a cohort study of 5902 patients with positive COVID-19 diagnosis treated at a single academic medical center in New York, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients had a higher proportion of more than 2 medical comorbidities and were more likely to test positive for COVID-19 compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts. However, their survival outcomes were at least as good as those of their non-Hispanic White counterparts when controlling for age, sex, and comorbidities. Meaning In this study, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients experienced similar outcomes as their non-Hispanic White counterparts after COVID-19 infection; this is critical to further understanding the observed population differences in mortality by race/ethnicity reported elsewhere.