Ethnicity and COVID-19: investigating the determinants of excess risk in UK Biobank

有什么问题吗？来自少数族裔群体的人似乎受到COVID-19的不成比例的影响，特别是南亚以及黑人和非洲裔加勒比社区。到目前为止做了什么？国家数据集显示，少数民族群体死于COVID-19的可能性高达4倍。然而，这种风险增加的原因尚不清楚。我们要做什么？我们将使用一个名为UK Biobank的大型数据集，该数据集已与国家COVID-19数据相关联。在这个数据集中，我们将使用统计模型来检查少数民族群体的风险增加是否可以用潜在健康状况、生活方式行为（如体育活动）和环境因素（如空气污染）或社会不平等措施的差异来解释。为什么这很重要？这项工作将开始揭示为什么少数民族可能面临更高的风险，以及这种风险是否在整个人口中平等分布。例如，风险增加是否可以用心脏病或糖尿病等其他疾病负担加重或生活在污染更严重的地区来解释？其他方面健康的少数民族人群是否仍有更高的风险？解决这些问题将有助于为公共卫生优先事项和行动提供信息。

What is the problem? People from minority ethnic groups seem to be disproportionally affected by COVID-19, particularly South Asian and Black and African Caribbean communities.What has been done so far? National datasets have shown that minority ethnic groups are up to 4 times more likely to die from COVID-19. However, the reason for this increased risk is not known. What are we going to do?We will use a large dataset, called UK Biobank, which has been linked to national COVID-19 data. Within this dataset, we will use statistical modelling to examine whether the increased risk in minority ethnic groups is explained by differences in underlying health status, lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity, and environmental factors such as air pollution or measures of social inequality.Why is this important?This work will start to unpick why minority ethnic groups may be at increased risk and whether this increased risk is spread equality across the population. For example, is the increased risk explained by a higher burden of other diseases such as heart disease or diabetes or by living in more polluted areas? Do otherwise healthy individuals from minority ethnic groups still have an increased risk? Addressing these question will help inform public health priorities and actions.