SynthesisJournal of global health2021
Racial disparities in COVID-19 pandemic cases, hospitalisations, and deaths: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of global health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 150 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
150 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 266 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Racialised Minority Populations: A Systematic Review of Experiences and Perspectives.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Racial inequalities in eligibility and access to lung cancer screening: systematic review of United States studies.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Prognostic Factors of COVID-19: An Umbrella Review Endorsed by the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2023Pooled it
- Disparities in COVID-19 related outcomes in the United States by race and ethnicity pre-vaccination era: an umbrella review of meta-analyses.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Improving COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Black Populations: A Systematic Review of Strategies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Racial discrimination and adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2022Pooled it
- [Health impact of COVID pandemic. SESPAS Report 2022].Gaceta sanitaria · 2022Pooled it
- Preliminary Reach of an Information Technology Approach to Support COVID-19 Testing in Schools.Pediatrics · 2023Trial
- Associations Between Community Social Vulnerability or Socioeconomic Deprivation and Respiratory Virus Infection in Decedents in a Large, Urban Medical Examiner's Office.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- COVID-19 Mortality in Swedish Intensive Care Units: A Multicenter Survival Analysis.Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Symptom, Functional, and Work Participation Profiles Among Racialized Canadians with Pre-Existing Mental Health Challenges and Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Inpatient Cancer Treatment and Outcomes in the United States.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2026Article
- Relationships Between Vaccine Knowledge, Hesitancy, and Conspiracy Beliefs on COVID-19, Influenza, and HPV Vaccination.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- The role of trust in engaging community-based task forces and agencies among minoritized communities during a public health emergency.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Article
- Disparities in suicide risk trajectories among youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · 2026Article
- The impact of COVID-19 on women's mental health and coping during pregnancy and postpartum.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Attendance of Underserved Populations at Field-Based Health Services Events: Application of Quasi-Experimental Methods that Accommodate the COVID-19 Pandemic.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026Article
- Geographic and demographic disparities in sepsis and renal failure mortality: a CDC WONDER-based narrative review of 1999-2020 trends.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Review
- Feeling wronged: maternity care experiences of black, Sub-Saharan African migrant women living in Belgium during COVID-19.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Article
- Spatial and neighborhood data in the collaborative cohort of cohorts for COVID-19 Research (C4R).PloS one · 2026Observational
90 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPeople from racial minority groups in western countries experience disproportionate socioeconomic and structural determinants of health disadvantages. These disadvantages have led to inequalities and inequities in health care access and poorer health outcomes. We report disproportionate disparities in prevalence, hospitalisation, and deaths from COVID-19 by racial minority populations.
methodsWe conducted a systematic literature search of relevant databases to identify studies reporting on prevalence, hospitalisations, and deaths from COVID-19 by race groups between 01 January 2020 - 15 April 2021. We grouped race categories into Blacks, Hispanics, Whites and Others. Random effects model using the method of DerSimonian and Laird were fitted, and forest plot with respective ratio estimates and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each race category, and subgroup meta-regression analyses and the overall pooled ratio estimates for prevalence, hospitalisation and mortality rate were presented.
resultsBlacks experienced significantly higher burden of COVID-19: prevalence ratio 1.79 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.59-1.99), hospitalisation ratio 1.87 (95% CI = 1.69-2.04), mortality ratio 1.68 (95% CI = 1.52-1.83), compared to Whites: prevalence ratio 0.70 (95% CI = 0.0.64-0.77), hospitalisation ratio 0.74 (95% CI = 0.65-0.82), mortality ratio 0.82 (95% CI = 0.78-0.87). Also, Hispanics experienced a higher burden: prevalence ratio 1.78 (95% CI = 1.63-1.94), hospitalisation ratio 1.32 (95% CI = 1.08-1.55), mortality ratio 0.94 (95% CI = 0.84-1.04) compared to Whites. A higher burden was also observed for Other race groups: prevalence ratio 1.43 (95% CI = 1.19-1.67), hospitalisation ratio 1.12 (95% CI = 0.89-1.35), mortality ratio 1.06 (95% CI = 0.89-1.23) compared to Whites. The disproportionate burden among Blacks and Hispanics remained following correction for publication bias.
conclusionsBlacks and Hispanics have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. This is deeply concerning and highlights the systemically entrenched disadvantages (social, economic, and political) experienced by racial minorities in western countries; and this study underscores the need to address inequities in these communities to improve overall health outcomes.
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