Insights into disparities observed with COVID‐19

Abstract

The onset of human disease by infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 causing COVID‐19 has revealed risk factors for disease severity. There are four identified factors that put one at high risk for infection and/or mortality creating a disparity: age, co‐morbidities, race/ethnicity and gender. Data indicate that the older a person is, and/or the presence of obesity and diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease place one at higher risk for COVID‐19. In the United States, specific race/ethnicities, particularly African Americans and Native Americans, are strong COVID‐19 risk components. Male gender has also emerged as a severity risk factor. For age and racial/ethnicities, the accumulation of health co‐morbidities is common precipitating mechanisms. In particular, underlying socio‐economic structures in the United States likely drive development of co‐morbidities, putting affected populations at higher risk for severe COVID‐19. Sudden cardiac death triggered by a common sodium channel variant in African Americans with COVID‐19 has not been evaluated as a cause for racial disparity. There is no evidence that racial/ethnic differences for COVID‐19 are caused by ABO blood groups, use of angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or from amino acid substitutions in the SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein. There is growing evidence that androgen‐enabled expression of ACE2 receptors and the serine protease TMPRSS2, two permissive elements engaging the SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein for infection, may contribute to severe COVID‐19 in men. Overall, COVID‐19 has generated disparities for who is infected and the severity of that infection. Understanding the mechanisms for the disparity will help nullify the differences in risk for COVID‐19.