Health Disparities News and Research

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Health disparities (also called healthcare inequality in some countries) refer to gaps in the quality of health and health care across racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and socioeconomic groups.

Differences in certain type of small protein may shed light on lung cancer risk in different races

Research from an investigator at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and colleagues from the National Cancer Institute and other facilities, shows differences in a certain type of small protein vary by race and may contribute differently to the development of lung cancer in African Americans and European Americans.

3 Mar 2016

New study finds link between vitamin D deficiency and aggressive prostate cancer

A new study provides a major link between low levels of vitamin D and aggressive prostate cancer. Northwestern Medicine research showed deficient vitamin D blood levels in men can predict aggressive prostate cancer identified at the time of surgery.

2 Mar 2016

TTR protein causes autoimmune reaction in joints of juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or JIA, is the most common form of childhood arthritis. It appears to be an autoimmune disease, caused by antibodies attacking certain proteins in a person's own tissue. But no "autoantigens" -- the proteins triggering an immune attack -- have been linked to JIA.

27 Feb 2016

Unique cardiovascular disease risk calculator for black adults may not be necessary: Study

Although cardiovascular disease risk prediction models are developed with predominantly white populations, application of models to a large black population finds that they work well in black individuals and are not easily improved on, suggesting that a unique risk calculator for black adults may not be necessary, according to a study published online by JAMA Cardiology.

25 Feb 2016

Black, white Americans cope with pain differently

Researchers led by Adam T. Hirsh of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis report that black and white Americans cope with pain differently and that blacks employ pain coping strategies more frequently than whites. The IUPUI review and analysis of 19 studies is the first to examine the entire published literature and quantify the relationship between race and the use of pain-coping strategies.

23 Feb 2016

U of M, RIT awarded $3 million grant to assess health information between deaf and hearing individuals

Health information can be difficult to understand for anyone, but it is especially difficult for deaf individuals who may struggle with information and health care marginalization. This is a population with high rates of inadequate health literacy and health disparities. A grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders is looking to change that.

18 Feb 2016

Low-income families having children with special health care needs at high risk for food insecurity

Low-income families with children who have special health care needs are at high risk for food insecurity, even when they receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and participate in public assistance programs, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

10 Feb 2016

Cancer patients who miss scheduled radiation therapy appointments have worse outcomes

Cancer patients who miss two or more radiation therapy sessions have a worse outcome than fully compliant patients, investigators at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and Albert Einstein College of Medicine's NCI-designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center have found.

10 Feb 2016

New AGS guidance aims to transform approaches to healthcare for older patients

New guidance from the American Geriatrics Society aims to transform approaches to healthcare for our increasingly diverse older population. Developed by a committee of experts in ethnogeriatrics (the study of how ethnicity and culture impact the health and well-being of older people), "Achieving High-Quality Multicultural Geriatric Care" outlines present health disparities and the need for sensitivity to culture and health literacy when working with older individuals.

5 Feb 2016

Beta- and gamma-HPVs associated with development of head and neck cancers, finds Einstein study

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that when human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 is detected in peoples' mouths, they are 22 times more likely than those without HPV-16 to develop a type of head and neck cancer.

22 Jan 2016

Researchers engineer antibodies that could potently neutralize two deadliest strains of Ebola virus

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have engineered the first antibodies that can potently neutralize the two deadliest strains of the virus that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

13 Jan 2016

Transgender veterans have significantly greater prevalence of many psychiatric and medical conditions

The first large, controlled study of health disparities between clinically diagnosed transgender and non-transgender patients-based on the medical records of more than 5,000 patients treated in the Veterans Health Administration-showed that transgender veterans had a significantly greater prevalence of numerous psychiatric and medical conditions.

7 Jan 2016

UAB study to examine social support, intuitive eating impact on older African-American men with diabetes

University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Assistant Professor Loretta T. Lee, Ph.D., has received a 2015 Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging pilot grant award to examine the association of social support and intuitive eating with glycemic control in older African-American men with diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

30 Dec 2015

Ebola virus and bats waging molecular battle for survival

Ebola virus and bats have been waging a molecular battle for survival that may have started at least 25 million years ago, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) that published online today in the journal eLife.

24 Dec 2015

UTHealth receives nearly $5.7 million from CPRIT for cancer research

The Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas has awarded nearly $5.7 million in grants to The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. The grants will fund projects that train innovative cancer researchers, increase breast and cervical cancer screening among Hispanics and raise awareness about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

22 Dec 2015

One of every three deaths in the U.S. linked to cardiovascular diseases

One of every three deaths in the U.S. in 2013 were from heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, while heart disease and stroke were the No. 1 and No. 2 killers worldwide, according to American Heart Association's 2016 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update.

17 Dec 2015

Perceived stress increases likelihood of amnestic mild cognitive impairment in older people

Feeling stressed out increases the likelihood that elderly people will develop mild cognitive impairment—often a prelude to full-blown Alzheimer's disease. In a new study, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System found that highly stressed participants were more than twice as likely to become impaired than those who were not.

13 Dec 2015

Review provides recommendations to improve cancer screening, treatment in people with mental illness

A new report calls attention to cancer in people with mental illness, suggesting that healthcare system and societal factors are just as critical as individual lifestyle factors-- linked to smoking and obesity--that lead to health disparities among this group.

12 Dec 2015

FIRS calls for continued international support to end AIDS epidemic by 2030

World AIDS Day, held annually on the first day of December each year since 1988, is an opportunity for people around the world to join in the fight, show their support for those living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and commemorate the lives of those who have died.

7 Dec 2015

Survivors of gunshot violence in high-crime urban area at risk of early death

One in 20 survivors of gunshot violence in an urban area with high crime died within five years, mainly by homicide, according to the results of a study that tracked patients after they had been discharged from the hospital that treated them.

19 Nov 2015