Death Rate Is Twice Among People With Color

People of color are more than twice as likely to die after a traumatic brain injury as white people, as per a retrospective review "Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Mortality During Hospitalization for Traumatic Brain Injury: A Call to Action," from Oregon Health & Science University, published in the journal Frontiers in Surgery.

The team had analyzed for the first time data of more than a decade to review racial and ethnic disparities in 6,352 patients treated for traumatic head injuries between 2006 and 2017 at OHSU Hospital, one of two Level 1 trauma centers in the state.

‘People of color are twice as likely to die after traumatic brain injury. This highlights the underlying disparities in social health such as diet, lifestyle, occupations, and access to health care that disproportionately affects people of color.’

A clear delineation of worse outcomes for people of color was found. The overall mortality rate was 9.9% among all patients. Among the 1,504 patients who identified as racial or ethnic minorities, 14.6% died. An in-hospital mortality hazard ratio was calculated to be 2.21 for minority patients compared to white patients.

Social Determinants of Health

"We have a societal and professional duty to recognize and accept that the effects of structural racism have taken hold of our patients' health long before they arrive in our trauma bays, ICU beds, and operating tables. These disparities permeate our society and contribute to inequitable health outcomes, and we must take action to identify the factors which perpetuate this disproportionate suffering," says the team.

The team thereby affirmed no treatment bias among the patients in the hospital, including similar measurements between groups like the number of days spent in intensive care and charges for hospital services. This highlights the underlying social determinants of health, including factors such as diet, lifestyle, occupations, and access to health care, that disproportionately affect people of color.

"Dr. Raslan's research is incredibly important in highlighting disparities in health outcomes experienced by people of color. Together with our department's efforts to improve the care of traumatic brain injuries, and more broadly to improve diversity in medicine, I am confident OHSU can really make a difference," says Nathan Selden, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of neurological surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine.

Source: Medindia