Ethnic disparity in hospitalization among veterans with COVID-19 and cancer.

Abstract

e18613 Background: COVID19 results in severe disease and resource utilization, particularly among patients with cancer. Hospitalization rates among COVID19 outpatient US veterans with cancer vary according to race (white vs non-Hispanic black). Less is known about ethnic (Hispanic vs non-Hispanic) disparities in hospitalization rates. We aimed to identify ethnic disparities in all-cause hospitalization rates among COVID19 outpatient US veterans with cancer. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of veterans with cancer and an index diagnosis of COVID19 (ICD10 U07) between 1/1/2020 and 3/31/2022 managed at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. We included patients for whom ethnicity data (Hispanic or non-Hispanic white) were available. Our primary outcome was all-cause hospitalization rates at 30 days and 60 days following an index diagnosis of COVID19 among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white patients with cancer. We analyzed continuous variables using unpaired t test and categorical variables using Chi-square analysis for statistical significance (p < 0.05). Results: Of 968 outpatient veterans with a history of cancer and a COVID19 diagnosis between 1/1/2020 and 3/31/2022, 762 met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 300 (39.4%) identified as Hispanic (94% male, p < 0.05) and 462 (60.6%) identified as non-Hispanic white (90% male). At baseline Hispanic patients were younger and were more likely to have underlying comorbidities (T2DM, mild liver disease, AIDS; p < 0.05). Hispanic patients with cancer demonstrated hospitalization rates after the index COVID19 diagnosis comparable to those of non-Hispanic white patients at 30d (34% vs 28.8%) and 60d (35.7% vs 32%). Conclusions: Although Hispanic patients with cancer demonstrated a trend of higher hospitalization rates at 30d and 60d following a COVID19 diagnosis, this difference was not statistically significant. Further studies with a larger sample size and generalizability to assess ethnic disparities in other clinical settings are warranted.