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.

Overcoming barriers to move beyond race-based treatment decisions

Prescribing certain medications on the basis of a patient's race has long come under fire from those uneasy with using race as a surrogate for biology when treating disease.

28 May 2016

Majority of young adults with abdominal obesity unaware of CKD risk

Many young adults with abdominal obesity exhibit a readily detectable risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet the vast majority don't know they're at risk, according to a study of nationwide health data led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers that was published online today in the journal PLOS ONE.

26 May 2016

School obesity prevention program helps seventh graders lose weight over long-term period

A five-week obesity prevention program for seventh grade students in Southern California helped obese students lose weight over a long-term period, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

24 May 2016

New study explores impact of infant feeding practices on childhood obesity risk

Does the timing of introducing solid foods to the infant diet affect a child's risk of being obese by 6 years of age? A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data on infant feeding practices, with a 6-year follow-up to determine obesity, and also explored the potential impact of breast versus formula feeding.

12 May 2016

Scientists develop new technology that helps visualize translation of mRNA into proteins

For the first time, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have developed a technology allowing them to "see" single molecules of messenger RNA as they are translated into proteins in living mammalian cells. Initial findings using this technology that may shed light on neurological diseases as well as cancer were published online today in Science.

9 May 2016

New HIV infections and transmission rate in the U.S. drop, but fall short of NHAS goals

The number of new HIV infections and the transmission rate in the United States dropped by 11 and 17 percent, respectively, between 2010 and 2015, but fell short of the goals put forth by President Obama's U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reported this week in the journal AIDS and Behavior.

4 May 2016

Mitochondrial dysfunction linked to chemotherapeutic resistance in African-American men with prostate cancer

Improper functioning of the mitochondria, a cell's source of energy, may help account for the fact that African-American men with prostate cancer respond poorly to the same conventional therapies provided to Caucasian-American men, according to research led by Dhyan Chandra, PhD, Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

30 Apr 2016

Study highlights significant burden of migraine on family activities

The debilitating pain and disability of migraine also attacks the emotional, social and financial fabric of a family, according to a new study conducted by researchers at Montefiore Headache Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, affiliated with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Vedanta Research, the Mayo Clinic and Allergan plc. The findings were published today in Volume 91, Issue 5 of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

28 Apr 2016

Unmet nursing care may contribute to racial/ethnic differences in AMI readmissions

Why are black older adults at higher risk of repeat hospital admission after a heart attack? Treatment at hospitals with higher rates of missed nursing care may be a contributing factor, reports a study in the May issue of Medical Care.

22 Apr 2016

Higher levels of neighborhood greenness linked to lower chronic disease risk

A new study of a quarter-million Miami-Dade County Medicare beneficiaries showed that higher levels of neighborhood greenness, including trees, grass and other vegetation, were linked to a significant reduction in the rate of chronic illnesses, particularly in low-to-middle income neighborhoods.

22 Apr 2016

Study finds low prevalence of vascular risk among Southwest US population

In a newly published, pilot study in the journal Ethnicity & Disease, researchers report a relatively low prevalence of vascular risk among participants of the Southwest Heart Mind Study, especially among those treated for hypertension and hyperlipidemia despite overweight and obesity.

22 Apr 2016

Novel strategy for obesity prevention in young children

A novel approach to preventing overweight/obesity in young children by replacing traditional, individual well-child care with a series of group visits that emphasize nutrition-focused interventions during the first 18 months of life was associated with a significantly reduced obesity rate at 2 years of age.

20 Apr 2016

Unmet nursing care linked to higher risk of AMI readmissions for older black patients

15 Apr 2016

Immune-boosting formulation in Chinese herbal remedies comes from bacteria growing on Angelica roots

Juzen-taiho-to, also known as shi quan da bu tang, is one of the most popular herbal formulas in China and Japan and is used in the West by practitioners of traditional Asian medicine. New research suggests the remedy's immune-boosting effects are due, at least in part, to bacteria that grow on the roots of one of the formula's component herbs.

6 Apr 2016

Health inequities become a persistent challenge as world’s urban population continues to grow

New data on the health of city-dwellers in almost 100 countries show that as the world’s urban population continues to grow, health inequities - especially between the richest and poorest urban populations - are a persistent challenge, according to a report by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

31 Mar 2016

ICUH 2016 aims to improve health in cities worldwide

Hundreds of researchers, educators, community leaders, practitioners, and policy makers from all regions of the world will convene in San Francisco, California from April 1-4 to advance understanding of actions needed to improve health and health equity in cities worldwide.

21 Mar 2016

Researchers develop conceptual model to help LGBTQ patients with multiple minority identities

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) patients who are also racial and ethnic minorities suffer significant health disparities, while facing more complicated challenges than white LGBTQ or racial and ethnic minority patients alone.

21 Mar 2016

ClearWay Minnesota approves new research grants for three 24-month projects

Yesterday, ClearWay Minnesota's Board of Directors approved three new research grants. The grants, totaling $500,000, examine issues that affect some of the populations most burdened by the harms of smoking, and are designed to inform good future regulation of tobacco products.

18 Mar 2016

IUPUI researchers examine pain experience, pain management among Hispanic Americans

Hispanic Americans report fewer pain conditions compared with non-Hispanic white or black Americans, according to a critical review and analysis of more than 100 studies on pain experience and pain management among Hispanic Americans.

15 Mar 2016

Parent, caregiver's depression linked to worsening symptoms in asthmatic child

Studies have shown that children with asthma are at higher risk for depression. Research also has shown an association between a parent or caregiver's depression and worsening symptoms in an asthmatic child.

14 Mar 2016

Health Disparities News and Research

Further Reading

Overcoming barriers to move beyond race-based treatment decisions

Majority of young adults with abdominal obesity unaware of CKD risk

School obesity prevention program helps seventh graders lose weight over long-term period

New study explores impact of infant feeding practices on childhood obesity risk

Scientists develop new technology that helps visualize translation of mRNA into proteins

New HIV infections and transmission rate in the U.S. drop, but fall short of NHAS goals

Mitochondrial dysfunction linked to chemotherapeutic resistance in African-American men with prostate cancer

Study highlights significant burden of migraine on family activities

Unmet nursing care may contribute to racial/ethnic differences in AMI readmissions

Higher levels of neighborhood greenness linked to lower chronic disease risk

Study finds low prevalence of vascular risk among Southwest US population

Novel strategy for obesity prevention in young children

Unmet nursing care linked to higher risk of AMI readmissions for older black patients

Immune-boosting formulation in Chinese herbal remedies comes from bacteria growing on Angelica roots

Health inequities become a persistent challenge as world’s urban population continues to grow

ICUH 2016 aims to improve health in cities worldwide

Researchers develop conceptual model to help LGBTQ patients with multiple minority identities

ClearWay Minnesota approves new research grants for three 24-month projects

IUPUI researchers examine pain experience, pain management among Hispanic Americans

Parent, caregiver's depression linked to worsening symptoms in asthmatic child

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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