RAÇA/COR NEGRA E ÓBITO POR COVID-19: UM ESTUDO TRANSVERSAL EM UM MUNICÍPIO DO NORDESTE BRASILEIRO

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the frequency of completion of the race/color/ethnicity item and the association between black race/color and deaths from COVID-19, in the municipality of Camaçari, Bahia, between the years 2020 and 2021. Method: This is an observational, cross-sectional study, through the survey of information from the Department of Informatics of the SUS (OpenDATASUS). We investigated the distribution of COVID-19 cases by race/color/ethnicity and the distribution, for the variables: age group, sex and existence of comorbidities. Logistic regression, by subgroups, was used for data analysis and Odds Ratio, their respective 95% confidence intervals and p value, obtained through the chi-square test (χ2) were estimated. Results: The findings showed that, for the year 2020, the race/color/ethnicity item was not completed in 19.7% of confirmed cases of COVID-19, while in the following year, it was 28.54%. For the years 2020 and 2021, black individuals under the age of 60 were more affected by the disease, with a higher proportion of males and a higher occurrence of at least one risk factor for COVID-19, when compared to non-black individuals . Blacks without comorbidities were 16% more likely to die (OR: 1.16; 95% CI 1.02 – 1.31), when compared to non-blacks, these findings were statistically significant when adjusting for age and sex variables (p<0.018). Conclusion: The race/color/ethnicity item still has its record neglected. Black individuals with COVID-19 who did not have a previous risk factor for the disease had a higher chance of mortality when compared to non-black individuals.