Hospitalization Up for Black Gynecologic Cancer Patients With COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Black gynecologic oncology patients with COVID-19 are more likely to require hospitalization and have a disproportionate rate of death, according to a study published online Dec. 9 in Cancer.

Olivia D. Lara, M.D., from New York University Langone Health in New York City, and colleagues abstracted data from gynecologic oncology patients with COVID-19 infection among eight New York City area hospital systems. COVID-19-related hospitalization and mortality were analyzed using a multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression model.

Overall, 34.7 and 65.3 percent of the 193 patients who had gynecologic cancer and COVID-19 were Black and non-Black, respectively. The researchers found that compared with non-Blacks, Black patients were more likely to require hospitalization (71.6 versus 46.0 percent). Overall, 41.2 percent of the 34 patients who died from COVID-19 were Black. Among those who were hospitalized, Black patients were significantly more likely than non-Black patients to have three or more comorbidities (81.1 versus 59.2 percent); to reside in Brooklyn (81.0 versus 44.4 percent); to live with family (69.4 versus 41.6 percent); and to have public insurance (79.6 versus 53.4 percent). Among patients younger than 65 years, Blacks were more likely to need hospitalization compared with non-Blacks in a multivariable analysis (odds ratio, 4.87).

“COVID-19 infection outcomes experienced by Black women highlight preexisting disparities and call for multifaceted attention to address these longstanding differences in health outcomes among patients with gynecologic cancer,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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