ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: There are many countries that inhibit diverse populations and hence, studies have been conducted to find the relation between ethnic and racial groups within a society and incidence or mortality because of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the racial effect on the severity of disease and in-hospital outcomes in individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study is based on records of 804 tested positive COVID-19 patients presented at Dammam Medical Complex and Braira quarantine from March 2020 to May 2020 was conducted after approval from the ethical board. Patient's records included the routine patient's consent statement about the explanation of all the investigations and procedures before being performed. Data were retrieved and included in the analysis were age, gender, country of origin, racial background (Arab, Caucasian, Asian, Black, Latin and Hispanic), the severity of COVID-19 and outcome. RESULTS: Out of total 804 confirmed patients of COVID-19, there were 647 (80.5%) male patients and 157 (19.5%) female patients (M:F ratio = 4.1:1). Male preponderance was seen in all racial groups and significantly higher amongst the Asians than the Middle Eastern race (91.2% vs. 70.3%, p = .000). The mean age of Asians was significantly higher than the mean age of the Middle Eastern and Black and Caucasian races (42.8 ± 10.0 vs. 39.6 ± 16.3 vs. 37.0 ± 10.3, p = .003). The proportion of deaths was considerably higher amongst Asians (5.4%) compared with Middle Eastern patients (1.2%) (p value = .001). CONCLUSION: Severity and in-hospital outcome were varying considerably amongst the racial groups. East and South Asian COVID-19 patients had more severe symptoms and less recovery rate compared with other groups, late presentation may be a contributory reason. Hence, evaluation of the severity of COVID-19 in relation to the various racial groups along with demographic characteristics and other risk factors can provide baseline guidance to the clinical care providers to initiate earlier and appropriate treatment.