BACKGROUND: Older adults and people from certain racial and ethnic groups are disproportionately represented in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations and deaths METHODS: Using data from the Premier Healthcare Database on 181( )813 hospitalized adults diagnosed with COVID-19 during March-September 2020, we applied multivariable log-binomial regression to assess the associations between age and race/ethnicity and COVID-19 clinical severity (intensive care unit [ICU] admission, invasive mechanical ventilation [IMV], and death) and to determine whether the impact of age on clinical severity differs by race/ethnicity RESULTS: Overall, 84( )497 (47%) patients were admitted to the ICU, 29( )078 (16%) received IMV, and 27( )864 (15%) died in the hospital Increased age was strongly associated with clinical severity when controlling for underlying medical conditions and other covariates;the strength of this association differed by race/ethnicity Compared with non-Hispanic White patients, risk of death was lower among non-Hispanic Black patients (adjusted risk ratio, 0 96;95% CI, 0 92-0 99) and higher among Hispanic/Latino patients (risk ratio [RR], 1 15;95% CI, 1 09-1 20), non-Hispanic Asian patients (RR, 1 16;95% CI, 1 09-1 23), and patients of other racial and ethnic groups (RR, 1 13;95% CI, 1 06-1 21) Risk of ICU admission and risk of IMV were elevated among some racial and ethnic groups CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that age is a driver of poor outcomes among hospitalized persons with COVID-19 Additionally, clinical severity may be elevated among patients of some racial and ethnic minority groups Public health strategies to reduce severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection rates among older adults and racial and ethnic minorities are essential to reduce poor outcomes
Risk of Clinical Severity by Age and Race/Ethnicity Among Adults Hospitalized for COVID-19-United States, March-September 2020