Native Americans are significantly underrepresented on the national liver transplant list in the United States, despite experiencing the highest death rates from liver disease. An investigation by The Markup and The Washington Post revealed that white individuals are nearly three times more likely to be placed on the transplant list compared to Native Americans, based on an analysis of four years of transplant data.The study found that if transplant rates were equitable, approximately 1,000 more Native Americans would have received liver transplants between 2018 and 2021. The data indicates that access to the transplant list is a critical factor in…
Author: Disparity Matters
Emory University neuroscientist Negar Fani and Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Nathaniel Harnett have revealed that racial discrimination can lead to significant brain alterations and increased disease risk, particularly dementia, in Black populations. Their research, part of the nearly two-decade-long Grady Trauma Project, focuses on the trauma and stress experienced by Black individuals in Atlanta, Georgia.The findings come at a time when the United States is grappling with a racial reckoning, highlighted by the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black communities. This public health crisis has cast a spotlight on the persistent health disparities that have been documented by…
he Food and Drug Administration is moving to ban formaldehyde in hair straightening products amid growing concerns over cancer risks, particularly for Black women who are disproportionately affected by hazardous chemicals in hair relaxers. The proposed ban, expected to be introduced in April, follows years of advocacy and research highlighting the dangers of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen linked to cancers of the respiratory tract and leukemia. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Tamarra James-Todd has emphasized the presence of harmful chemicals in products marketed to African Americans, including phthalates and parabens, which are associated with reproductive cancers. The FDA’s…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being criticized for taking too long to ban formaldehyde, a chemical known to cause cancer, from hair-straightening products mostly used by Black women. Even though a federal agency said formaldehyde was a human carcinogen (a substance that causes cancer) over ten years ago, the FDA is only now thinking about banning it. They plan to propose the ban in April. Linda Birnbaum, who used to be in charge of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, was shocked by how slow the FDA has been to act.…
A new study reveals significant racial disparities in treatment and survival rates among older patients with multiple myeloma (MM), despite advancements in therapeutic agents. The research, published in Cancer Medicine, found that African American patients aged 66 and older were less likely to receive treatment in the first year after diagnosis compared to their White counterparts. The study analyzed Medicare records of patients diagnosed with MM between 2007 and 2017. Results showed that 59.5% of African American patients received treatment within the first year, compared to 64.8% of White patients. This racial gap in treatment rates widened over time, increasing…
In recent years, the intersection of technology and healthcare has exposed alarming racial disparities in medical treatment and outcomes. A stark example is the pulse oximeter, a device crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been found to overestimate blood oxygen levels in Black patients, potentially leading to delayed or denied care. Dr. Noha Aboelata, founding CEO of Roots Community Health Center in East Oakland, California, was shocked to learn about this inaccuracy. “I just saw red,” she said, recalling her reaction to the New England Journal of Medicine article revealing the issue. The discovery prompted her clinic to file a…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced a new air pollution regulation aimed at significantly reducing soot levels, a move that could prevent thousands of premature deaths annually. This groundbreaking rule is expected to have a profound impact on poor and minority communities, which have historically suffered from higher exposure to industrial pollution.Research underscores the critical nature of this regulation, highlighting that Black Americans and low-income White Americans are more likely to reside near polluting facilities and, as a result, stand to gain substantially from the reduction of PM2.5 levels. These fine particulate matters, known for their ability to penetrate…
A new study found that Black children are more likely to have severe reactions to food allergies than white children. They also go to the emergency room more often because of these reactions. The study was done by researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The researchers looked at information from 784 children in a study called FORWARD. This study included children from different races and ethnicities. They found that even though the differences in severe reactions and using epinephrine (a medicine for allergies) weren’t huge, there might be reasons why Black children have worse reactions. The researchers think…
A recent study reveals ongoing racial disparities in the treatment and survival rates of seniors with multiple myeloma (MM), a type of blood cancer primarily affecting older adults. Conducted by Rong Wang, Ph.D., a senior research scientist in epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues, the research analyzed Medicare records of patients aged 66 and older diagnosed with MM between 2007 and 2017. The findings, published in Cancer Medicine, indicate that non-Hispanic African Americans are less likely to receive treatment within the first year of diagnosis compared to their White counterparts. However, untreated African American patients showed lower mortality…
Over 100,000 Americans with sickle cell disease often struggle to access effective healthcare and groundbreaking treatments, as stated by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. Despite medical advancements bringing us closer to cures, many individuals with sickle cell disease and their families still face challenges in obtaining the care they need. The U.S. is now testing a new access model to make gene therapy, a potentially curative treatment for sickle cell disease, more affordable. This initiative is a significant step towards addressing health disparities and underrepresentation in the healthcare system, particularly for those affected by sickle cell disease, a…