Part of the explanation could be the high rates of underlying health conditions among the area’s black residents. Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma all lead to more severe outcomes for people with COVID-19.
Residents of the county’s South region, which includes Inglewood, have nearly twice the rate of diabetes as residents of the San Fernando Valley area, which includes Glendale. When asked by UCLA researchers to rate their own health, 25 percent of residents in Inglewood answered fair or poor, the lowest scores in the county, compared with 15% in Glendale.
Countywide, one in five black residents was diagnosed with asthma at some point in his or her life, the highest rate among major racial and ethic groups except for Native Americans, according to UCLA’s California Health Interview Survey. Among the county’s white population, it is 14 percent, and for Latinos, 12 percent. Black residents also have a higher rate of hypertension (high blood pressure) than white residents.