Americans who are male, black or have underlying health conditions are more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, according to new CDC data cited by The New York Times.
The agency analyzed data on 1,482 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in March for its latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published April 8. Data came from hospitals across 14 states that participate in COVID-NET, a population-based surveillance system to track laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Five report findings:
1. The overall hospitalization rate for March was 4.6 hospitalizations per 100,000 population. This rate was highest among patients age 65 or older at 13.8 per 100,000.
2. Of the 178 patients with complete health status data, 89.3 percent had one or more underlying health conditions.
3. The most common condition associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations was hypertension (49.7 percent), followed by obesity (48.3 percent), chronic lung disease (34.6 percent), diabetes mellitus (28.3 percent) and heart disease (27.8 percent).
4. About three-fourths of the hospitalized patients were age 50 or older, and nearly 55 percent of patients were male.
5. Black patients made up just 18 percent of the population in the areas studied, but accounted for 33 percent of all hospitalizations, suggesting that they may be disproportionately affected by COVID-19. White patients accounted for 45 percent of all hospitalizations.
To view the CDC's full report, click here.