LOS ANGELES — Black, indigenous and other people of color who were infected with COVID-19 experienced greater negative aftereffects in health and work loss than did similarly infected white participants, according to research released Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • A UCLA report found that Black, indigenous and people of color who were infected with COVID-19 experienced greater negative aftereffects in health and work loss

  • The research from INSPIRE is a federally funded collaboration of UCLA Health and seven other major academic medical centers 

  • The study investigated the longer-term impacts of acute COVID-19 infection across ethnic and racial groups

  • Heath officials said the goal of the study is to inform equitable health interventions for underserved populations who are still navigating the post-COVID experience

The research from INSPIRE, a federally funded collaboration of UCLA Health and seven other major academic medical centers, investigated the longer- term impacts of acute COVID-19 infection across ethnic and racial groups.

The findings suggest that some negative outcomes — including health status, activity levels and ability to work — among certain non-white participants may be associated with socioeconomic disparities when compared with those of non-Latino and white participants.

"Certain demographic groups may be overrepresented in front-line work industries," said Dr. Michelle L'Hommedieu, project director and co-author of the UCLA INSPIRE study. "Keep in mind that individuals in these groups may not have had the option to work from home, which may have increased their risk of infection."

Other differences across population groups might stem from lack of health insurance, mistrust of the medical establishment, cultural or institutional racism, so-called "medical deserts," or the lack of safe parks or green spaces where study participants live, researchers noted.

The findings are published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

"We must understand what is driving these differences in order to advance health equity after infection," said Dr. Joann Elmore, principal investigator of the study site and a professor in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

"Several minority populations reported worse overall health, lower activity levels, or more missed work months after infection," Elmore continued. "While we can't pinpoint the cause, we know that, historically, these populations may have a harder time accessing health care, which could complicate their recovery."

Among the study's findings:

  • Latino participants were about twice as likely as non-Latino counterparts to self-report fair or poor health and much lower activity levels at three months. These differences, however, were no longer present at six months.
  • Compared with white participants, those who identified as "other/multiple race" were nearly twice as likely to report fair or poor health and that they were somewhat or much less active at three months. These differences persisted at six months. The "other/multiple race" group included individuals identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander or selecting two or more races.
  • Compared with white participants, Asian participants' chances of reporting fair/poor health was similar at three months, but Asian participants were more likely to report fair/poor health at six months.
  • Reports of more than five missed workdays were similar across all race groups at three months; at six months, however, reports of missed work were almost three times higher among Black participants and two times higher other/multiple race participants.

"Our hope is that these findings will inform equitable health interventions for underserved populations who are still navigating the post-COVID experience," Elmore said