Black Americans are significantly more concerned about environmental threats and experience more acute ecological crises compared to other racial groups, according to a new Gallup survey. The study reveals stark racial disparities in exposure to environmental hazards and the ability to relocate when faced with pollution or contamination. The survey found that 53% of Black adults are “very” or “fairly concerned” about exposure to air pollution in their communities, compared to 46% of Hispanic adults and 35% of white adults. Concerns about drinking water contamination among Black Americans are 15 percentage points higher than the national average and 20 points…
Author: Disparity Matters
Black Americans have overtaken white Americans in rates of “deaths of despair,” according to a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry. The research shows a dramatic shift in mortality patterns for middle-aged adults from suicide, alcohol abuse, and drug overdoses.The study found that between 2013 and 2022, the rate of these deaths among Black Americans aged 45-54 nearly tripled from 36.24 to 103.81 per 100,000 population. This surpassed the rate for whites, which stood at 102.63 per 100,000 in 2022. “Rising inequalities in deaths of despair among American Indian or Alaska Native and Black individuals were largely attributable to disproportionate early…
Native Americans have a significantly lower life expectancy compared to White Americans, with a median age at death 14 years younger according to recent CDC data. In South Dakota, the disparity is even more pronounced, with Indigenous residents dying 22 years earlier than their White counterparts. Health experts attribute this alarming gap to complex social and economic factors rather than just inadequate healthcare. Dr. Donald Warne, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, emphasizes the need for community-based prevention programs over simply hiring more medical professionals. The article highlights various challenges facing Native American communities, including high rates…
Addressing patients’ health-related social needs by joining with nation’s largest social services support network
Addressing mental health care disparities with expertise of faculty members
A new University of Michigan study reveals significant racial disparities in disability rates among older Americans, with about 40% of African Americans aged 50-80 living with a disability compared to one-third of older adults overall. The research, published in Geriatric Nursing, examined preparedness for “aging in place” among different racial and ethnic groups. It found that African Americans face multiple disadvantages, including higher disability rates, lower incomes, and poorer self-reported health. “I knew there was disability among older adults, but I guess I didn’t really consider the extent of it,” said lead researcher Sheria Robinson-Lane, assistant professor of nursing at…
Two Native American tribes have taken legal action against major social media companies, alleging their platforms contribute to disproportionately high suicide rates among Native youth. The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the Spirit Lake Tribe of North Dakota filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County court against companies owning Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Google. The lawsuit claims that Native American teens are heavily engaged with social media, with about two-thirds of youth aged 15-24 using these platforms for three to seven hours daily. This usage, the tribes argue, is directly fueling a mental health crisis among Native youth. Menominee Tribal…
Black Americans who experience racial discrimination in midlife show higher levels of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers later in life, according to a new study. This finding provides evidence that chronic stress from racism may contribute to the disproportionate risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in Black Americans.The research, conducted over 17 years, analyzed blood samples and interviews from 255 Black participants. By 2019, when participants averaged 57 years old, those who reported more discriminatory experiences in their 40s and 50s had significantly higher levels of phosphorylated tau181 and neurofilament light chain, both indicators of neurodegeneration.”This study is an important look into…
A recent study published in JAMA Network Open reveals that Black women with a maternal history of uterine fibroids face a 26% higher risk of developing fibroids themselves. This finding highlights a significant health disparity affecting Black women in the United States. Uterine fibroids, which impact over 70% of reproductive-aged women, disproportionately affect Black women. The study found that Black women experience fibroid onset approximately 10 years earlier than their White counterparts. The research, conducted using prospective ultrasonographic examinations, focused on Black women aged 23 to 35 years. Of the 1,610 participants, 37% reported a maternal history of fibroids. The…
Recent research published in JAMA Psychiatry has revealed a dramatic shift in the demographics of “deaths of despair” in the United States. The study shows that middle-aged Black and Native Americans now have higher death rates from alcoholic liver disease, drug overdoses, and suicide compared to white Americans. This finding challenges the longstanding narrative that these deaths primarily affected white Americans. The original analysis of deaths of despair, conducted nearly a decade ago, focused on rising death rates among middle-aged white people between 1999 and 2013. However, this new study highlights that the phenomenon has evolved significantly since then. By 2022,…