Researchers sought to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in diabetes diagnosis.
Tag: Disparities
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and AstraZeneca Join Forces to Accelerate Lung Cancer and Disparities Research, Education
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) has entered into a partnership with biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in an effort to advance and improve lung cancer treatment and eliminate disparities in health care.
Study Finds Disparities in RA Disease Activity and Physical Function Across Racial and Ethnic Groups
New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, found that racial and ethnic disparities for disease activity persist in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Black and Hispanic patients often had higher disease activity and lower self-reported functional status when compared to white patients.
Intervention eliminates Black-white gaps in survival from early-stage breast and lung cancer
A new study shows that system-level changes to the way cancer care is delivered can also eliminate Black-white disparities in survival from early-stage lung and breast cancer. By identifying and addressing obstacles that kept patients from finishing radiation treatments for cancer, the intervention improved five-year survival rates for all patients and erased the survival gap between Black and white patients. Findings will be presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.
UCI-led study finds disparities in severe illness and lengthy hospitalizations between undocumented and Medi-Cal patients
Lithium is a common medication prescribed to patients with psychiatric disorders, namely bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. It is used as a mood stabilizer and lessens the intensity of manic episodes, with particular benefit in reducing suicidality. While highly effective, the drug requires routine blood monitoring, which can be uncomfortable, expensive, and inconvenient for patients who must travel to clinical labs for frequent blood testing.
Secure media credentials to cover “Improving Breast Cancer Outcomes in Black Women: Time for a Change”
A live press briefing featuring a panel of nationally recognized experts will follow their presentation “Improving Breast Cancer Outcomes in Black Women: Time for a Change” at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) annual ACS Clinical Congress being held virtually (October 23–27).
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Expert Available for Comment on Disparities in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
New Brunswick, N.J., August 24 2021 – Cancer is a disease that can impact anyone, but it does not impact everyone equally. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Black women, and Black women…
Mount Sinai Researchers Report Troubling Increase in Homebound Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics, During Pandemic
In a study to be published this coming Monday, August 23, at 11 am Eastern (please note embargo) in JAMA Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai researchers discuss a troubling rise in homebound older adults that underlines the inequality of the pandemic.
Disadvantaged Neighborhoods See More COVID-19 Infections and Deaths, Mount Sinai Scientists Report
New York City neighborhoods that had higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage experienced more COVID-19 infections and deaths, according to Mount Sinai scientists who created a neighborhood-level COVID-19 inequity index.
NCCN Policy Summit Explores How COVID-19 Pandemic Can Lead to Improvements in Cancer Care
NCCN Policy Summit examines the impact of the past year on oncology policy in the U.S., such as resuming recommended screening and clinical trials, applying health innovations from the COVID-19 pandemic to cancer treatment, and addressing systemic inequalities that lead to disparities in outcomes.
Breast Cancer Study: African Americans Not Experiencing Complete Response to Extent Other Groups Are
Researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center led the largest study to date to suggest an improving trend in pathologic complete response rates over time for U.S. cancer patients of various races. The team’s findings, documented in a poster presentation at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology virtual annual meeting (abstract 575), show that African Americans are more likely than patients from any other group to have remaining disease following breast cancer treatment.
Disparities in COVID-19 Rates among Adults with Kidney Failure in New York City
• Among adults with kidney failure undergoing hemodialysis in New York City, Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19 than White patients.
• Neighborhood-level social vulnerability factors were associated with COVID-19 incidence among White patients, but these factors did not explain racial/ethnic disparities.

Study Finds Americans Eat Food of Mostly Poor Nutritional Quality – Except at School
A study of U.S. dietary trends over 16 years finds food consumed from typical sources, such as restaurants, grocery stores, schools, and work, is mostly of poor nutritional quality, with the exception of food from schools. Disparities in dietary quality by race, ethnicity, and income persist.
Multiethnic Tumor Models Aid in the Search for New Approaches Against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Breast cancer stem cells from patients with different racial and ethnic backgrounds showed important differences in activation of immune response-related genes in mouse models of triple-negative breast cancer.
Vision Impairment is Associated with Mortality
A meta-analysis finds that vision impairment and blindness are tied to an increased risk of mortality, prompting the need to address global eye health disparities.

Study Estimates Two-Thirds of COVID-19 Hospitalizations Due to Four Conditions
A new study estimates 64% of adult COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. may have been prevented if there were less obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure. The model suggests notable differences by age and race/ethnicity in COVID-19 hospitalizations related to these conditions.
Current Liver Cancer Screenings May Leave African Americans at Greater Risk
Early detection could reduce the number of African Americans dying from liver cancer, but current screening guidelines may not find cancer soon enough in this community, according to a study published in Cancer in February.
Addressing Breastfeeding Disparities for African American Mothers
An abundance of data underscore the importance of breastfeeding and human milk for the optimal health of infants, children, mothers, and society. But while breastfeeding initiation rates have increased to more than 80% in the U.S., a disparity exists for African American mothers and infants. In this group, breastfeeding is initiated only about 69% of the time.

MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING ANNOUNCES NEWLY ENDOWED CHAIR AND FELLOWSHIPS FOR HEALTH EQUITY AND DIVERSITY
The new positions reflect MSK’s commitment to expanding patient access to cancer care and supporting ongoing research aimed at reducing cancer disparities that stem from racial, ethnic, cultural, or socioeconomic barriers.
Study Examines Social Determinants of Disparities in Kidney Transplantation
• Race and social determinants of health were associated with the likelihood of undergoing kidney transplantation among US adults with kidney failure.
• Interventions that target social determinants of health may improve access to kidney transplantation.
Multi-ethnic study finds diabetes complications differ across minority groups
Asian, Hispanic and Black people with diabetes differ in their development of complications like kidney failure and heart disease depending on their disease profile, according to a new study being published this Wednesday in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. “Prior research on…
Heart Disease and COVID-19: Focusing on Exercise, Mental Health, and Nutrition are Critical for High-Risk Groups
February is American Heart Month and cardiologists from the Mount Sinai Health System are sharing tips on heart disease prevention to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, and COVID-19.

Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Tuesday.
Mortality rate after cancer surgery drops during 10-year period, but gap persists between Black and white patients
Mortality rates after cancer surgery declined for Black as well as white patients during a recent ten-year period, although the mortality gap between the two groups did not narrow, according to new research by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard University investigators.
Rutgers Institute for Health Receives $10M to Study Health and Well-Being in New Jersey
The Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research has received $10 million in funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Rutgers University to support the New Jersey Population Health Cohort study – the largest study to date to explore factors that influence health and well-being in New Jersey.
Coronavirus Infection Odds Twice as High Among Black, Latinx Hospital Workers
Support staff and Black and Latinx hospital employees with and without patient care responsibilities are at highest risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care settings, a Rutgers study found.
Transportation barriers to surgical care may increase the likelihood of emergency surgical intervention
Transportation barriers, such as personal access to a vehicle or public transportation, disproportionally affect minority communities.

$5 million NIH grant awarded to reduce COVID-19-related disparities in vulnerable populations
To help reduce COVID-19-related health disparities in vulnerable populations in Texas, a multi-institutional team of researchers led by UTHealth in Houston will identify disease hotspots and testing deserts in racially diverse areas, and then develop and evaluate intervention strategies to increase testing.

Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Tuesday.
Study examines racial and ethnic disparities among COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts
In a new study published in Health Affairs, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health examines the association between community-level factors and COVID-19 case rates across 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts between January 1 and May 6, 2020.
Study Uncovers Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Flu Vaccination Rates among U.S. Dialysis Facilities
• Among US patients undergoing dialysis, those visiting dialysis facilities with higher proportions of minorities are less likely to be vaccinated against influenza, and the disparity seems to be increasing.

A conversation game may reduce disparity in end-of-life care for African Americans
A Penn State College of Medicine research team found that playing a simple conversation game may encourage African Americans to make plans for their end-of-life care.
New Documentary Celebrates Clean Air Act, Highlights Communities Still Waiting for Clean Air
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Clean Air Act this year, the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF) will host the premiere of a new documentary that highlights the dramatic reductions in air pollution that the United States has achieved since Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970, as well as the disparities in access to healthy air that persist in America.

No-Deductible Preventive Drugs Lower Costs, Increase Medication Use for Low-Income Diabetes Patients
For patients with diabetes – especially those with lower incomes – preventive drug lists (PDLs) of essential medications available with no deductible can reduce out-of-pocket costs while increasing use of important treatments, reports a study in a June supplement to Medical Care. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
UChicago Medicine Invests $519.5 Million in Community Benefit in Fiscal 2019
UChicago Medicine’s latest Community Benefit Report highlights investments, contributions and partnerships focused on providing high-quality care, promoting health equity, and building community collaboration on Chicago’s South Side.
Neighborhood Racial and Economic Polarization, Hospital of Delivery, and Severe Maternal Morbidity
How neighborhood racial and economic spatial polarization, an extreme form of residential segregation, influences maternal health.
National study finds diets remain poor for most American children; disparities persist
A study of national dietary trends over 18 years finds some improvements in the diets of U.S. children, but the majority still have a poor-quality diet. Disparities persisted or even worsened, finds the study published in JAMA and led by researchers at Tufts.

Cancer survival disparities in minority children, adolescents greater for more treatable cancers
Racial and ethnic minority children and adolescents with cancer have a higher risk of death than non-Hispanic white children and adolescents, with evidence for larger disparities in survival for more treatable cancers, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.“The results suggest that there are modifiable racial and ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival,” said Kim Johnson, associate professor and senior author of “Associations Between Race/Ethnicity and US Childhood and Adolescent Cancer Survival by Treatment Amenability,” published Feb.
Understanding How Laws Affect Public Health: An Update on Legal Epidemiology
Laws can have important effects on public health risks and outcomes, while research can provide key evidence to inform effective health-related laws and policies. An introduction to the increasingly influential field of legal epidemiology is presented in a special supplement to the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice (JPHMP). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

On the menu: Study says dining out is a recipe for unhealthy eating for most Americans
There may be some healthy choices on restaurant menus, but most of what Americans are eating while dining out is of poor nutritional quality, according to a new study from researchers at Tufts. Disparities based on race, ethnicity, income, education also worsened over the 14-year study period.
Sleep & Endurance Performance, Female Racers, Reducing Falls, Youth Fitness & More from the Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Science®
If you’re looking for health and fitness story ideas, view these research highlights from Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews and Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, ACSM’s flagship journal.

Lack of Specialists Doom Rural Sick Patients
Residents of rural areas are more likely to be hospitalized and to die than those who live in cities primarily because they lack access to specialists, according to research in Health Affairs.
Study sheds light on differences in hospitalization-related care and outcomes for urgent cardiovascular conditions among homeless individuals
In a new retrospective study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, a team of researchers led by Rishi Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, an investigator in the Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), found that there are indeed striking disparities in in-hospital care and mortality between homeless and non-homeless adults.