Study Finds No Racial Disparity in COVID-19 Case Fatality Rates at Montefiore, When Controlling for Key Risk Factors

(BRONX, NY)—A study from Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine published today in JAMA Network Open found that among 5902 ethnically diverse coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–positive patients admitted to Montefiore Medical Center, the outcomes for Black and Hispanic patients relative to their White counterparts were the same or better. 

The study shows that Black and Hispanic patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 presented with more preexisting conditions, also known as comorbidities, as well as other risk factors. However, researchers found that Black and Hispanic patients had survival rates at least as good as their non-Hispanic White counterparts, when controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status and comorbidities. Similar data trends have been shown in patients hospitalized in other major health systems in Louisiana and the Midwest.

“It is well-documented that communities of color have shouldered the heaviest burden of COVID-19 in the United States, and there have been many explanations offered for why that is the case,” said Andrew D. Racine, MD, PhD, system senior vice president and chief medical officer at Montefiore and professor of pediatrics at Einstein. “We discovered, somewhat surprisingly, that Black and Hispanic patients, when hospitalized, had similar or slightly better survival outcomes compared to White patients.”

Learn more.