Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Years of Potential Life Loss Among Patients With Cirrhosis During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Am J Gastroenterol. 2023 Apr 1;118(4):752-757. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000002191. Epub 2023 Jan 13.

Abstract

Introduction: Our aim was to evaluate the impact of race/ethnicity on cirrhosis-related premature death during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We obtained cirrhosis-related death data (n = 872,965, January 1, 2012-December 31, 2021) from the US National Vital Statistic System to calculate age-standardized mortality rates and years of potential life lost (YPLL) for premature death aged 25-64 years.

Results: Significant racial/ethnic disparity in cirrhosis-related age-standardized mortality rates was noted prepandemic but widened during the pandemic, with the highest excess YPLL for the non-Hispanic American Indian/American Native (2020: 41.0%; 2021: 68.8%) followed by other minority groups (28.7%-45.1%), and the non-Hispanic White the lowest (2020: 20.7%; 2021: 31.6%). COVID-19 constituted >30% of the excess YPLLs for Hispanic and non-Hispanic American Indian/American Native in 2020, compared with 11.1% for non-Hispanic White.

Discussion: Ethnic minorities with cirrhosis experienced a disproportionate excess death and YPLLs in 2020-2021.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • COVID-19*
  • Ethnicity
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Humans
  • Liver Cirrhosis* / mortality
  • Pandemics
  • United States / epidemiology