Why are blacks and Asians at greater risk of contracting the new coronavirus?

, June 24, 2020 /PRNewswire-BIOON/-- The Coronavirus Pandemic has significantly raised awareness of health inequalitiesResearchers have long recognized that race and socio-economic conditions play an important role in affecting our health, but the epidemic illustrates these serious inequalities and the need for urgent action to address themin a new study, researchers investigated how the risk of COVID-19 varies by race and socioeconomic backgroundresearchers analysed data from nearly 400,000 people in England who took part in the British Biobank study, which collected information on the living environment of people between 2006 and 2010This information, combined with testdata from the Coronavirus Laboratory at Public Health England, allows researchers to assess the risk stakes of different ethnic groupsThis allowed researchers to understand how people's health and living conditions were related to the occurrence of COVID-19 during the pandemic about a decade agoresearchers have found striking inequalityBlacks are four times more likely than whites to need hospital treatment, and South Asians (especially In Pakistan) are three times more likely to need hospital treatment than whitesPhoto Source: European Centers for Disease Control
there are still significant inequalities when researchers consider factors such as pre-epidemic health, whether people smoke, and whether they are working in health care during baseline data collectionConsidering that socioeconomic factors have reduced these differences to some extent, when the researchers considered these factors, blacks were still twice as likely as whitesfurther research confirms the researchers' findingsThe National Bureau of Statistics studied COVID-19 deaths using racial information from censuses and death certificatesTheir report also found an increased risk of death among ethnic minoritiesThey again found that these high risks decreased, but not eliminated, when the measures available were used to consider socio-economic backgroundsWhere do health inequalities come from? what does mean? First, based on what researchers already know about racial inequality in health, it is almost certain that there is a disproportionately high proportion of minorities affected by the coronavirus, without any single explanation This is likely to be the role of a number of factors, including structural racism and discrimination While we know that race is largely a social variable, that doesn't mean the underlying biological differences are completely ineffective South Asians, for example, are particularly at higher risk of developing diabetes , at least in part because they are prone to gaining fat in the abdomen, which is highly related to the risk of diabetes a widely discussed possible explanation is that vitamin D levels vary between races, but the team's analysis of the UK biobank data found no evidence of this , however, even if biological differences do play a role in health inequalities, their impact is often small compared to the role of social forces this has brought us social factors The concerns of health care workers about access to personal protective equipment have been widely expressed Opportunities for minorities may be more limited, increasing the risk of unfairness to them However, research data in this area are still limited finally, there is ample evidence that racist experiences have a direct impact on health Racism, particularly experienced by key staff, is now considered to be an important factor contributing to racial inequality in COVID-19 Discrimination can lead to minorities being placed in more dangerous front-line roles Its widespread impact also means that ethnic minorities are more likely to engage in unsafe jobs, such as those in the "part-time economy" Experiencing the psychological and social stress of racism is also considered to have a direct impact on health As highlighted in a recent special issue of the British Medical Journal, racism in the NHS persists and limited progress has been made in addressing this issue over the past 25 years it's time to act on the evidence
Public Health England recently released its much-anticipated report on racial inequality in COVID-19 In fact, however, only a small part is about race, and it does not offer anything new or suggested picture source: The expected evidence from Public Health England's London regional director, Kevin Fenton, is not included, despite the fact that he has developed a series of recommendations based on extensive engagement Ignoring this evidence may further undermine public trust when it is most needed while racial inequalities in health are long-standing, they are not inevitable we need sustained policy efforts by the government to address these inequalities In the short term, we need to monitor health outcomes by race, adapt public health information to reach everyone, and remove barriers to health care in order to minimize further harm from the virus Restricting health care for migrants is an important obstacle, and the requirement of documentation may reduce the use of much-needed medical services In the long run, we must address racism and discrimination if we are to create a fairer society in which everyone can enjoy it If there is any positive outcome of the epidemic, it is long overdue to acknowledge and act on the structural causes of health inequalities (BioValleyBioon.com) References: : : Why are black and Asian people at greater risk of coronavirus? s what we found 2
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