A new study reveals a troubling reversal in heart disease mortality among older Americans, with minority communities experiencing the steepest increases. After two decades of decline, deaths from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) began rising again in 2019, particularly among non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Asian populations.Researchers analyzed over 9 million deaths from 1999 to 2021 using CDC data. They found that ASCVD-related mortality dropped sharply until 2014, then stabilized, but surged between 2019 and 2021. The increase was most pronounced among Hispanic or Latino adults, whose death rate jumped from 572.7 to 718.3 per 100,000—a 13.55% annual rise. Non-Hispanic Black adults…
Author: Disparity Matters
Federal budget cuts are hitting Native American communities unexpectedly hard—even as the Indian Health Service remains shielded. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren praised the preservation of IHS staff, telling Secretary Kennedy, “you were the first one to stand up for Indian Country.” However, he and tribal leaders warn that reductions elsewhere are “disrupting real lives,” as Cherilyn Yazzie, a Navajo council delegate, lamented.These collateral consequences stem from sweeping HHS funding reductions that tribal health systems depend on. Liz Malerba of the Mohegan Tribe cautioned against misconceptions that only IHS cuts matter, noting, “That’s simply not true.” She emphasized that staffing freezes…
Black patients in psychiatric settings face a higher likelihood of being chemically restrained than white or Hispanic patients, according to findings shared by UCI Health. These disparities are part of a broader pattern that suggests racial bias continues to shape how mental health care is delivered in clinical environments.Dr. Katy F. Lunny, a psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor at UC Irvine, pointed out that Black patients are more frequently given injectable medications and are more often diagnosed with conditions like schizophrenia or labeled as agitated. They also tend to have poorer neurological outcomes. She emphasized that these trends are not…
A new national study reveals that emergency surgeries are not only more expensive than planned procedures—they also disproportionately burden Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander patients. Researchers found that these groups face significantly higher costs and worse outcomes, largely due to unequal access to preventive care.Emergency procedures cost an average of $13,645 more per patient than planned surgeries. But for Black patients, the added cost was $15,552—19% higher than the average for white patients. Hispanic patients paid $14,525 more, and Asian/Pacific Islander patients faced an additional $16,887. These disparities reflect a healthcare system where those least able to afford care are…
New research reveals that where a woman lives can significantly affect her chances of surviving triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)—and Black women are paying the highest price. A study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention found that racialized economic segregation is linked to worse outcomes for non-Hispanic Black women with TNBC.Researchers analyzed data from over 25,000 women diagnosed with TNBC between 2010 and 2015. They found that women living in counties with the highest concentration of low-income Black residents—classified as the most deprived—had significantly higher risks of breast cancer mortality compared to those in the most privileged counties, which had…
A recent clinical trial highlights how breast density notifications may unintentionally heighten anxiety and worry among Latina women, even when paired with educational support. Conducted at a federally qualified health center in Phoenix, Arizona, the study involved 1,332 Latina women aged 40 to 74 who received one of three types of mammographic breast density (MBD) notifications: a standard letter, a letter with an educational brochure, or a brochure plus a session with a promotora, a trained community health worker.At the start, over half of the participants reported moderate to severe anxiety, and 41.3% worried about developing breast cancer “sometimes,” “often,”…
Despite national efforts to expand access to opioid use disorder (OUD) medications, Black and Hispanic patients remain less likely to receive buprenorphine compared to white patients, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open. Among over 164,000 patients tracked from 2017 to 2022, the probability of receiving buprenorphine was 20.5% for white patients, but only 17.1% for Black patients and 16.2% for Hispanic patients. “These disparities persist,” said Dr. Utsha G. Khatri of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who led the study. “Continued efforts to reduce these disparities, through both targeted clinical practices and policy…
Communities that are more vulnerable to climate change also face a greater burden of cardio-kidney-metabolic diseases, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The research reveals a significant association between climate vulnerability and adverse health outcomes, with implications for targeted public health interventions. The cross-sectional study, conducted by researchers at Houston Methodist, analyzed 70,300 census tracts comprising nearly 300 million Americans. They found that each climate change domain—health, social and economic, and extreme events—was strongly associated with cardio-kidney-metabolic outcomes, including coronary heart disease, kidney disease, obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension. “We were motivated…
Despite long-standing assumptions that suicide and opioid use disorder (OUD) primarily affect White Americans, new research reveals a more complex and troubling reality for Black communities. A study published in Social Science & Medicine found that while White participants with OUD reported higher average depression and anxiety scores, Black participants with moderate to severe symptoms were more likely to report suicidal behavior.The study analyzed data from adults in recovery in St. Louis, Missouri, using standard mental health screening tools—the PHQ-9 and GAD-7. Researchers discovered that the optimal cut-off scores for identifying suicide risk differed by race, suggesting that these tools…
A new analysis of metastatic lung cancer trends in the U.S. reveals that while overall incidence has declined since 2014, not all communities are benefiting equally. The study, published in Cureus, examined data from over 445,000 adults and found that racial and ethnic disparities remain stark in the era of lung cancer screening.The decline in metastatic lung cancer was most significant among White and Black patients. However, no meaningful trend changes were observed for non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic populations. This suggests that these groups may not be accessing or benefiting from early detection efforts at…