LOS ANGELES – A new USC study of a large and diverse group of Medicaid enrollees finds Latino patients had starkly higher odds of a positive COVID-19 test, as well as higher odds of hospitalization and death, than white patients, it was announced Friday.
The study of racial and ethnic differences in COVID-19 testing and outcomes included data from more than 84,000 adults who were enrolled in Los Angeles County’s Medicaid managed care plan.
One hypothesis for worse COVID-19 outcomes among low-income people has been that they are more likely to have other preexisting health problems. After controlling for those risks, as well as demographic and neighborhood factors, Latinos still fared worse than other groups. That was in spite of the fact that the Latino patients were disproportionately younger. In general, Latinos in the U.S. are healthier than whites — a phenomenon known as the “Latino paradox,” according to the study appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“Even among a population of Medicaid patients who are similarly economically disadvantaged, Latinos are shouldering an unfair burden of this deadly pandemic,” said study co-author Mireille Jacobson, associate professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and senior fellow at the USC Schaeffer School for Health Policy and Economics. “The substantially higher risk facing Latinos should be a key consideration in California’s strategies to mitigate COVID-19 transmission and harm.”
The opportunity to study a large and racially diverse low-income population appealed to the researchers. They hoped to help answer questions about what was causing COVID-19’s racial and ethnic disparities in communities around the country and to understand whether prior work was confounded by differences in economic status across groups.
Health providers observed in the early days of the pandemic that Latinos were more likely to test positive; in response, they increased their outreach to that community and urged them to get tested. Likely because of that outreach, testing for COVID-19 was higher among Latinos than for Black, Asian or white patients, but Latinos also had much higher infection rates. Tragically, they were also much more likely to end up hospitalized and to die from COVID-19 than white Medicaid enrollees.
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities in terms of infection, hospitalizations and deaths. The interplay of social, economic and demographic factors influencing COVID outcomes remains poorly understood. Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID vary widely across the country and seem to depend on local context, the study’s authors said.
They point to prior studies that showed adjusted odds of hospitalization were higher for Black and Latino patients than for whites in a Wisconsin health system. In contrast, adjusted odds of hospitalization were similar for Black and Latino patients when compared with white patients in a New York City health system.
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Opin says
Get Vaccinated. Problem Solved. Not Rocket Science.
Claire says
In California Latinos make up much of the essential work, agriculture etc. that allowed others to shelter in place. back breaking work white people won’t do, along with poor health care.
Loampounder says
“Latinos are shouldering an unfair burden of this deadly pandemic” What does “unfair” even mean in this context? Is there a fair share of a pandemic? What are they “shouldering”? That ethnicity may have more cases and we should study why, but it’s ridiculous to frame it as the group is taking on more of a “share” by choice.
“The substantially higher risk facing Latinos should be a key consideration” There is NOT a higher risk. They are not more susceptible because they eat spicy foods and COVID does not travel in salsa. If they have more cases, it is because they have the same risk AND get exposed more. Stop making it sounds like to medical cases are due to ethnicity, as if they are more noble for suffering for their genes and cultural heritage.
It’s behavior; stop looking at the color of the skin.
Tim Scott says
How about instead of taking up your racist stance of “it’s their evil brown lifestyle” we take a look at WHY they have more pre-existing health problems, making them more likely to have severe outcomes from covid…since that is what the article is actually about?
They are more often economically disadvantaged, because people like you say “I am more comfortable with this other fellow so he gets the job, and it isn’t skin color it’s just their evil brown lifestyle…not my fault, theirs.” And in this country economic disadvantage means less access to healthcare, because the wealthy are allowed to teach us that poverty is a sin that merits punishment unto death.
William says
The saying “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
I’ve noticed over the last decade that there are many, many younger Black elected officials, journalists, pundits, authors etc. that are out there speaking powerfully yet calmly and composed and intelligently commening on the critical issues of the day.
Beeeeee and Sonya aka Pu$$y can only read to the last paragraph above before their brains shut down. It’s sad n’est-ce pas?
Meanwhile, putting aside that “white supremacy” is an osymoron*, pasty white Republicans and others such as our very own Sonya aka Pu$$y and Beeeee ramble on incoherently and with litttle thought. They could work at Fox so-called news without any training.
So, I predict the future will belong to Blacks and other current minorities as the white right wingers are dying off from meth, opioids and even being killed while invading the Capital.
* the whites that raided the Capital while taking selfies making their captures easier.
So, there you have it, a glimse into the country’s future if not prevented . The morons at Fox News and our very own right wing morons won’t be able to take this country far as China and European democracies move ahead. Germany is going solar.
China has solar farms extending beyond the horizon plus high speed rail and trading with South America and Africa. China knows how to build for the future. They’ve been doing it for centuries. It even has thousands of soldier statues buried for some future war perhaps.
The Great Wall was started almost 3,000 years ago and it’s 13, 171 miles long should you want to walk it. Trump did what with his “picket fence”, a couple miles here and there? Oh, well. He is full of it anyway. He thinks he built the whole distance and that he’s still president, right Beeeeee and the other one.
Does anyone think that politicans that think and talk just like Beeeeee and the other one can lead this country into the 21st century? They haven’t so far.
Republicans? Can’t protect us…COVID, AIDS, Katrina. Can’t govern…crashes in 1929, 1987, 2008 and 2020 and a recession every singe time an R resides at 1600.
Blacks and Asians have shown that whatever activities they could to excel in they EXCEL. Sports, entertainment, cooking the best southern food around, writing, education and especially STEM for Asians. Meanwhile, the white Repubes think Trump is their Holy Spirit, Grifter and Orange God…an unholy trinity if ever there was one.
But, the 2 girls here will continue believing the lies as will others. Democrats and Independents just need to outvote them. There are more registered Dems but more lying Repubes suppressing votes. I wish the Dems would have young, big, bad Black Panthers at the polling places making the white Repubes pee their pants. And, that’s just their menfolk. .
Fin
Loampounder says
Never said anything like that, and you know it. You are creating FAKE works to label others as racist. It’s not about skin color or ethnic culture – it is about people’s behavior. Notice how I said nothing about “brown lifestyle”.
No, I am calling out the study co-author pointing to race. I am saying that it NOT race.
Look at this from the article: ““Even among a population of Medicaid patients who are similarly economically disadvantaged, Latinos are shouldering an unfair burden of this deadly pandemic,” said study co-author Mireille Jacobson”. The study is saying that even among other poor people, that ethnicity has more “burden” (what ever that means). How? they don’t say but they imply a ‘noble savages’ argument.
Tim Scott, stop YOUR race-mongering.
FatWhiteBob says
Tim it’s apparently culturally related for a number of reasons.
I take issue with people illegally entering the Country and clearly not having a social security number to legally work.
It creates a entirely different cash only group outside of normal society.
Tim Scott says
And this “cash only group” harms you…how exactly?
This doesn’t really connect to Loampounder’s initial post FWB. It’s an interesting issue though so we can talk it through in a civil manner if you are willing. Loampounder I am pretty sure was coming from “brown people deserve to be diseased” so my civility doesn’t extend to them.