A striking reversal of typical health disparity patterns has emerged in deaths from Clostridioides difficile infections, with white Americans dying at far higher rates than Black or Hispanic populations.
White people accounted for 83.9% of C. difficile-related deaths between 1999 and 2023, while Black individuals made up just 8.1% and Hispanic people 5.5%, according to research presented at IDWeek 2025 in Atlanta. The analysis reviewed 216,311 deaths across 25 years of CDC data.
Muhammad Sohaib Asghar, a resident physician at AdventHealth Sebring in Florida and the study’s presenting author, called the findings surprising. “When we talk about social determinants of health, we expect people who are getting infected or dying from these infections are usually from low socioeconomic or those people who have lesser access to healthcare utilization,” he said. “However, in C. diff it’s actually opposite.”
The disparity likely stems from greater healthcare access among white populations, leading to more frequent antibiotic exposure—the primary risk factor for C. difficile infection. “It’s the white population. They have more resources, they have more access to healthcare utilization, and these are more prone to maybe being exposed to antibiotics,” Asghar explained.
Women faced higher mortality rates than men, accounting for 58.2% of deaths. Geographic patterns showed 83.8% of deaths occurring in metropolitan areas, with 71.2% happening in inpatient settings.
Death rates peaked between 2006 and 2015 before declining, attributed to improved infection control practices, antimicrobial stewardship programs, and newer treatment options including fidaxomicin and fecal microbiota therapies.
See: “Mortality From C. difficile Higher Among Whites Than Minorities” (October 21, 2025)
