Feature Channels: Race and Ethnicity

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In the first known study to examine the prevalence and treatment of psoriasis in older Americans, experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that black patients receiving Medicare are less likely to receive biologic therapies –medications derived from human or animal cells or tissues – for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis than white patients.

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“Charity Folks is a ghost of slavery who refuses to be silenced,” writes Jessica Millward, associate professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, in the prologue to her forthcoming book, Finding Charity’s Folk: Enslaved & Free Black Women in Maryland (University of Georgia Press, 2015). Folks, a slave until the age of 40, existed only as a name on a 1797 document found in the Maryland State Archives that granted her freedom until Millward decided to “listen to the silences” and uncover her story.

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It is well documented that black, Hispanic and Asian women typically develop advanced-stage breast cancer more often than white women. As a result, black women are likelier to receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy, or chemotherapy prior to surgery, in hopes of improving outcomes. However, a Yale Cancer Center study published recently in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that among minority women treated with early chemotherapy, black women fare worse than the other groups.

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Renowned medical oncologist and President of the National Medical Association, Edith Mitchell is named one of the most influential African Americans in the country by EBONY Magazine

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African-American students remain underrepresented in physical science and engineering disciplines, according to a new report from the American Institute of Physics Statistical Research Center. The report shows that while the total number of bachelor's degrees obtained in the past decade by African-Americans has increased each year, this growth is not mirrored by increased representation in the physical sciences and engineering.

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A coalition formed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) which included a team from Mount Sinai to increase colorectal cancer screening rates in New York City resulted in a 40 percent increase in screening rates over four years. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the program may serve as a foundation for other communities to boost cancer screening rates.

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Monday, Nov. 23, is the third anniversary of the shooting of Jacksonville teen Jordan Davis over loud music. National race expert Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder, a University of North Florida associate professor of sociology, discusses how this event contributes to worsening race relations in our country.

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A new study of young people finds that, with one exception, whites are more optimistic — sometimes drastically so — than their minority peers about their likelihood of living to 35.

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Minority patients are less likely to receive analgesic medications for abdominal pain at US emergency departments (EDs), suggests a nationwide study in the December issue of Medical Care. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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According to data released by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, and analyzed in the annual State of Obesity report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in Arizona, North Carolina and New Mexico at least 75 percent of Native American adults are overweight or obese. Texas had the lowest obesity rate for Natives at 51 percent. By Mallory Black / Native Health News Alliance

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A new research study from Indiana University supports the commonly held view that people from disadvantaged groups are using the Internet to broaden their social networks. Those who are from racially or educationally advantaged groups depend more on face-to-face interactions and use the Internet to reinforce their connections with others.

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Black women in Canada have substantially higher rates of premature births than white women, mirroring relative disparities in the United States, according to a study led by researchers at McGill University. The findings are based on new cohort data from the Canadian Live Birth, Infant Death and Stillbirth Database linked to the Canadian census data.

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University of North Florida race expert Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder discusses the building story of the African-American football players at the University of Missouri who are protesting due to racist events on their campus.

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Findings from a new study conducted by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery suggest that lower socioeconomic status at the community level significantly increases the risk of pain and poor function following a knee replacement.

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A new study by a group at Hospital for Special Surgery reveals that blacks in the U.S. are at a significantly higher risk of requiring a revision than American whites, and that socioeconomic factors may play an important role in revision risk.

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African American, Native American, and Asian dialysis patients were 43% to 44% less likely than whites to use hospice before dying. Research that uncovered these disparities will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 November 3–8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

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Increasing median income levels of transplant candidates’ zip codes were associated with higher rates of living donation, but African American candidates living in the wealthiest neighborhoods had only slightly higher rates than rates seen among the lowest median income areas for Caucasians. African American donors had higher rates of complications early after donation. The findings will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 November 3–8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

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Three commonly used kidney function equations yielded discordant results for transplant waitlist qualification in a recent analysis. The findings, which point to the need for revised kidney transplant policies, will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 November 3–8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

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A recent paper reported that while black and white women in the U.S. now have very similar breast cancer incidence rates, blacks have 41% higher breast cancer mortality rates. Based on many journal papers, we suggest that the primary reason is that blacks have much lower vitamin D status than whites.

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Institutions of higher education should be permitted to employ race-conscious admissions practices to promote the many educational benefits a diverse campus offers to all students, according to an amicus curiae brief filed by the American Psychological Association with the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Cologuard stool DNA testing for colorectal cancer was found to be an accurate noninvasive screening option for Alaska Native people, a population with one of world’s highest rates of colorectal cancer, concluded researchers from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Mayo Clinic.

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The American Heart Association (AHA) and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) convened representatives from 41 national philanthropic organizations last week in Minneapolis. Participants focused on the grave problem of Native American nutritional health and agreed on key steps and planning to develop solutions.

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In the tumultuous real estate market of the 2000s, some U.S. homebuyers found wealth while others took big hits. But no matter when they bought, most black first-time homeowners lost money, a Johns Hopkins University study found

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — The genetic makeup of colon cancer tumors and survival rates for patients with the disease differ by race, according to a study from researchers at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, published in the October 2015 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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The Latino culture, more than others, places a high value on the family unit; yet, little research has examined the dynamics of Latino family relationships and how those dynamics affect children’s development. Now, a University of Missouri researcher found sibling relationship quality in adolescence affects Mexican-origin adolescents’ and young adults’ later depressive symptoms and their involvement in risky behaviors, including those with sexual risk.

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Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University, in partnership with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Regional Primary Care Coalition, will host a conference on October 7 to discuss the high burden of health problems that affect Latinos living in the Metropolitan DC area and efforts underway to address these health burdens.

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A large-scale survey of older Americans living at home or in assisted living settings found that 15 percent are frail, a diminished state that makes people more vulnerable to falls, chronic disease and disability.

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Blood tests in obese African-American teenage girls reveal immune system changes which ‘prime the system’ to develop cardiovascular disease later in life.

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A new study finds that the characteristics of one’s community may be as important as individual factors on the decision to become an organ donor. A study shows an association between social capital and organ donor registrations. To increase donations, the research suggests that future health policies adopt a community-level focus.

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A native of Great Britain who has written numerous books on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement in the United States and Arkansas is the new director of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Institute on Race and Ethnicity.

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A new study of more than 500 Black and Latino college students has confirmed that many encounter obstacles after enrolling in college without adequate financial resources.

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Most people who meet a new acquaintance, or merely pass someone on the street, need only a glance to categorize that person as a particular race. But, sociologist Asia Friedman wondered, what can we learn about that automatic visual processing from people who are unable to see?

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Skin color is a significant factor in the probability of employment for male immigrants to the United States, according to a new study.

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A new University of Washington study found that public-sector job cuts during and after the Great Recession disproportionately impacted African-Americans, especially women, and have increased racial disparity in the public sector.

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Requests for information from local public services, like sheriffs’ offices, school districts and libraries, across the United States are less likely to receive a reply if signed by ‘black-sounding’ names, according to new research conducted by economists at IZA and the University of Southampton.

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Racial disparity in mortgage rates is widespread between black and white borrowers, according to a newly published study which found more financially vulnerable black women suffer the most.

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A woman’s weight at birth, education level and marital status pre-pregnancy can have repercussions for two generations, putting her children and grandchildren at higher risk of low birth weight, according to a new study by Jennifer B. Kane, assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine. The findings are the first to tie social and biological factors together using population data in determining causes for low birth weight.

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Troubling questions about multiracial congregations’ potential to address racial inequality are raised by a new national study done by researchers at Baylor University, the University of Southern California and the University of Chicago.

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Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) researchers, together with input from African-American community leaders in Buffalo, have created an outreach effort that provides racial/ethnic minority and medically underserved communities with educational programs regarding the public’s participation in biomedical research. The program is the basis of a recent study published by a team of local collaborators.

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Medicare Part D provides help to beneficiaries struggling with the cost of prescriptions drugs, but the plan’s coverage gap hits some populations harder than others, particularly African-Americans age 65 and older.

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This year marks the 150-year anniversary of the abolition of slavery in America. Over the years, there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to secure reparations for African-American slave descendants.

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When people feel or act negatively toward a group, they may explain their feelings or behavior by saying, “I felt threatened.” However, new research reveals how easily people can be conditioned to feel prejudice -- and that unrecognized prejudice can be the source of a perceived threat. The study by Angela Bahns, a social psychologist and professor at Wellesley College, is published this month in the journal Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.