Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Black and Asian coronavirus patients 'more at risk of severe illness'

Black and Asian people may be at greater risk of severe illness from coronavirus because of social, cultural and biological reasons, experts have suggested.
Data on patients with confirmed Covid-19 from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) shows that ethnic minorities are over-represented compared with the general population.

Of 1,966 patients with the virus, the ICNARC said 64.8% were white, 13.6% were black, 13.8% were Asian, and 6.6% were described as other.

Duncan Young, professor of intensive care medicine at the University of Oxford, has pointed out that in the UK 2011 census, only about 7.5% of the population were Asian and 3.3% black – around half the proportions so far diagnosed with coronavirus nine years later. He said that in patients with non-Covid viral pneumonia treated on ICUs in the past, the proportions of Asian and black patients were similar to the population.

According to the ICNARC, data on patients with viral pneumonia from 2017-2019 showed 2.7% were black and 5.7% were Asian.

Prof Young said: ‘There are reports from the USA about far more than expected black patients being hospitalised for Covid-19.

‘There is a possibility of a genetic cause for the disproportionate number of ICU admissions in Asian and black patients, but as it is occurring across two different ethnic groups this is not likely.’

He continued: ‘The larger-than-expected numbers of cases in Asian and black patients may represent an effect of different social or cultural factors leading to more cases in these groups overall that is simply being reflected in ICU admissions.

‘Alternatively, it may be the burden of chronic conditions predisposing to severe Covid infections and hence ICU admission is higher in these ethnic groups.’

Dr Riyaz Patel, associate professor of cardiology at University College London, said: BME patients are ‘more likely to live in densely populated areas, multi-generational families in the same household and having more public-facing jobs, all of which makes the likelihood and duration of exposure to the virus more likely.’

‘Another explanation is that the virus has so far hit densely populated areas like London first, where BME populations are high.’

Dr Patel continued: ‘Most of the data from the ITUs so far comes from big London centres. As such, as time goes on we may see a levelling off of the racial disparity as the rest of the country is affected.

‘Nonetheless, there could be biological reasons for the difference which we can speculate on.

‘One thing very visible to us in London ITUs now is how diabetes, high blood pressure and possibly being a little overweight seem to be such potent risk factors for having a severe lung illness, perhaps even more so than having an existing lung disease which you would think would be a greater risk.

‘All of these risk factors are more common in black and Asian patients, so there could be a link here which needs further exploration.’
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×