COVID-19 Outcomes Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Individuals With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the United States

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than 29 million people and led to more than 542,000 deaths in the United States.¹ Older age, comorbidities, and racial and ethnic minority status are associated with severe COVID-19.² Among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), racial and ethnic minorities have worse outcomes, mediated in part by inequitable health care access.³ Racial and ethnic minority patients with IBD and COVID-19 may be an especially vulnerable population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 outcomes among IBD patients and the impact of non-IBD comorbidities on observed disparities.

Figure 1

Estimates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes and 95% CIs by race and ethnicity from Surveillance Epidemiology of Coronavirus Under Research Exclusion for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (SECURE-IBD) cases in the United States. (A) Odds ratios of hospitalization resulting from COVID-19 among Hispanic vs non-Hispanic white individuals and among non-Hispanic black vs non-Hispanic white individuals. (B) Odds ratios of severe COVID-19 outcomes (intensive care unit [ICU] stay, mechanical ventilation, or death) among Hispanic vs non-Hispanic white individuals and among non-Hispanic black vs non-Hispanic white individuals. BMI, body mass index; IL, interleukin; JAK, Janus kinase; 6-MP, 6-mercaptopurine; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.