Hispanic adults with asthma are much more likely to have severe asthma attacks during COVID-19 infections than black and white asthma patients, a new study finds.
Researchers at a medical center in Chicago evaluated 174 asthma patients who contracted Covid in spring 2020.
The Hispanic asthma patients were three times more likely to have severe asthma attacks than white patients and 4.5 times more likely to have attacks than black patients.
Asthma symptoms were also longer-lasting for Hispanic patients, with these patients experiencing Covid-induced asthma attacks for about twice as long as white and black patients.
The study shows another way that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted people of color in the U.S., though the team says more research is needed to back up the findings.
Hispanic asthma patients are more susceptible to severe Covid symptoms than black and white patients, a new study finds. Pictured: A nurse takes an asthma inhaler between performing Covid tests, Barcelona, Spain, June 2020
Throughout the pandemic, minority populations in the U.S. have been particularly vulnerable to Covid.
Additionally, Native Americans were more than three times as likely to die of Covid, compared to white Americans.
People of color tend to be more likely to work in essential jobs, live in multi-generational households, take public transportation and face other conditions that increase their risk of catching the coronavirus.
What's more, these communities may be more likely to have pre-existing medical conditions that increase their risk of severe Covid disease.
Minority populations in the U.S. are also more likely to suffer from asthma and allergies.
In 2018, black Americans were 40 times more likely to have asthma than white Americans - and almost three times more likely to die from an asthma-related cause - according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Hispanic Americans are also more likely to suffer from asthma. According to HHS, Hispanics are twice as likely to visit the emergency room due to asthma compared to white Americans.
Like other chronic lung diseases, moderate or severe asthma can increase an individual's risk of severe Covid symptoms.
A new study reveals how, among patients suffering from both asthma and Covid, Hispanic Americans
