ISLAMABAD, August 9 (Online): New research has identified some common factors associated with severe cases of COVID-19 in African American people, including a high body mass index (BMI). While all people have a risk of contracting the infection and developing the disease, this risk is not equally distributed. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note, “Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many people from racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19.” Various studies and reviews have demonstrated this disproportionate impact. The articles consistently point to an association between ethnicity and race and COVID-19 severity, highlighting that the disease and our approach to it must be understood in socioeconomic, as well as biological, terms. Racism, segregation, and inequality, which have been for decades invisibly and pervasively embedded in dominant cultures and social institutions, now emerge as a monumental COVID-19 challenge. Even as structural racism requires a wholescale reckoning, understanding the factors beyond systemic inequity that contribute to a high rate of severe COVID-19 among African Americans can help doctors respond effectively. It is of tremendous importance that we identify risk factors and those individuals who may be at … Continue reading High BMI linked to COVID-19 severity in African Americans: Research