Black and Asian groups are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection

Black and south Asian ethnic groups in England appear to be at higher risk of COVID-19, as well as hospitalisation with the disease. New UK Biobank research, led by the University of Glasgow and published today in BMC Medicine , has found that black and south Asian ethnic groups have a higher risk of testing positive with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. These groups were also at a higher risk of testing positive while attending hospital, suggesting they were also at greater risk of severe disease from the virus. These risks remained largely unchanged even when accounting for pre-existing health conditions, health-related behaviours (such as smoking) and the likelihood of working for the health service. However, socioeconomic differences seemed to partly but not wholly explain ethnic differences in COVID-19. Using UK Biobank data, which has now been updated to include COVID-19 information, the researchers found that black people in England were at highest risk of having laboratory confirmed infection, more than three times more likely than white people. South Asian groups also had a higher risk of testing positive, with Pakistani groups having the highest risk among them.