Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb;10(1):56-63.
doi: 10.1007/s40615-021-01196-0. Epub 2022 Jan 21.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 Among American Indian and Alaska Native Adults (≥ 18 Years Old) - New Mexico, March-September 2020

Joseph T Hicks  1   2 , Eleanor Burnett  3 , Almea Matanock  3 , George Khalil  3 , Kevin English  4 , Brooke Doman  5 , Tierney Murphy  5
Affiliations

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 Among American Indian and Alaska Native Adults (≥ 18 Years Old) - New Mexico, March-September 2020

Joseph T Hicks et al. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

To assess the presence of racial disparity during the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) sought to compare the case rate and risk of hospitalization between persons of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) race and persons of other races in New Mexico from March 1 through September 30, 2020. Using NMDOH COVID-19 surveillance data, age-standardized COVID-19 case and hospitalization risks were compared between adults (≥ 18 years old) of AI/AN and other races. We compared age, sex, and comorbidities between hospitalized adults of AI/AN and other races. Among AI/AN persons, age-standardized COVID-19 case and hospitalization risks were 3.7 (95% CI 3.6-3.8) and 10.5 (95% CI 9.8-11.2) times as high as persons of other races. Hospitalized AI/AN patients had higher proportions of diabetes mellitus (48% vs. 33%, P < 0.0001) and chronic liver disease (8% vs. 5%, P = 0.0004) compared to hospitalized patients of other races. AI/AN populations have disproportionately higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization compared to other races in New Mexico. By identifying etiologic factors that contribute to inequity, public health partners can implement culturally appropriate health interventions to mitigate disease severity within AI/AN communities.

Keywords: American Indian/Alaska Native; COVID-19; COVID-19 hospitalization; Diabetes mellitus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Weekly confirmed COVID-19 cases among persons of American Indian/Alaska Native race and persons of other race, New Mexico, March 1–September 30, 2020
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Age-specific and age-standardized COVID-19 case and hospitalization risk ratios for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) compared to all other races, New Mexico, March 1–September 30, 2020
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Petrilli CM, Jones SA, Yang J, Rajagopalan H, O’Donnell L, Chernyak Y, et al. Factors associated with hospital admission and critical illness among 5279 people with coronavirus disease 2019 in New York City: prospective cohort study. BMJ [Internet]. BMJ Publishing Group; 2020 [cited 2021 Jan 19];369. Available from: 10.1136/bmj.m1966 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Garg S, Kim L, Whitaker M, O’Halloran A, Cummings C, Holstein R, et al. Hospitalization rates and characteristics of patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 — COVID-NET, 14 states, March 1–30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control MMWR Office; 2020 [cited 2021 Jan 19];69:458–64. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7755063/ - PMC - PubMed
    1. Raine S, Liu A, Mintz J, Wahood W, Huntley K, Haffizulla F. Racial and ethnic disparities in covid-19 outcomes: social determination of health [Internet]. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. MDPI AG; 2020 [cited 2021 Jan 19]. p. 1–16. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7663309/ - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hatcher SM, Agnew-Brune C, Anderson M, Zambrano LD, Rose CE, Jim MA, et al. COVID-19 Among American Indian and Alaska Native Persons — 23 States, January 31–July 3, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control MMWR Office; 2020 [cited 2021 Feb 3];69:1166–9. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6934e1.htm?s_cid=mm6934e1_w - PMC - PubMed
    1. New Mexico Department of Health. Health Equity in New Mexico, 13th Edition [Internet]. Santa Fe, NM; 2019. Available from: https://www.nmhealth.org/publication/view/report/2045/

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources