Why are non-white people more likely to die?
Public Health England suggests that some of the disparity is down to underlying health conditions – what doctors call “co-morbidities”.
Its report reads: “The relationship between ethnicity and health is complex and likely to be the result of a combination of factors. Firstly, people of Bame communities are likely to be at increased risk of acquiring the infection. This is because BAME people are more likely
to live in urban areas, in overcrowded households, in deprived areas, and have jobs that expose them to higher risk.
“People of Bame groups are also more likely than people of White British ethnicity to be born abroad, which means they may face additional barriers in accessing services that are created by, for example, cultural and language differences.
“Secondly, people of Bame communities are also likely to be at increased risk of poorer outcomes once they acquire the infection. For example, some co-morbidities which increase the risk of poorer outcomes from Covid-19 are more common among certain ethnic groups.
“People of Bangladeshi and Pakistani background have higher rates of cardiovascular disease than people from white British ethnicity, and people of black Caribbean and black African ethnicity have higher rates of hypertension compared with other ethnic groups. Data from the National Diabetes Audit suggests that type II diabetes prevalence is higher in people from Bame communities.”
