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.

NIH awards $24 million to establish Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $24 million in first-year funding to establish Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence. Part of NIH's Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative, the centers will develop and evaluate innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths and promote maternal health equity.

17 Aug 2023

Gut microbiome variation linked to race and ethnicity arises after 3 months of age

Gut microbiome variation associated with race and ethnicity arises after three months of age and persists through childhood, according to a new study published August 17th in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Elizabeth K. Mallott of Washington University in St. Louis, US, Seth Bordenstein of Pennsylvania State University, US, and colleagues.

17 Aug 2023

Can machine learning algorithms identify patients at risk of a delay in starting cancer treatment?

Multi-level machine learning models for estimating the risk of delay between cancer diagnosis and treatment initiation in a large group of cancer patients.

17 Aug 2023

MD Anderson awarded four CPRIT grants for cancer prevention programs and recruitment

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was awarded four grants totaling nearly $4.9 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to support the expansion of physical activity programs for survivors, the dissemination of targeted tobacco cessation programs and the recruitment of a first-time, tenure-track faculty member.

16 Aug 2023

Scientists discover potential biomarkers linked to metastatic prostate cancer in Black men

Scientists at City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States and a leading research center for diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses, have identified a cell metabolism process found in men with diabetes and metastatic prostate cancer that could one day lead to improved testing and treatments for Black men with these diseases.

15 Aug 2023

Lessons learned from Latin America can help Ireland understand healthy brain aging

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin study the factors influencing healthy brain ageing in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries and find the lessons learned there, can also be applied to home.

10 Aug 2023

Rice University chemist wins $1M NIH grant to address cancer health disparities

Rice University chemist Carolyn Nichol has won a competitive Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Institutes of Health to address race-based cancer health disparities by increasing underrepresented minority student populations' engagement and participation in biosciences education.

10 Aug 2023

American Heart Association funds research to assess racial bias in cardiovascular treatment algorithms

As part of a focused effort to assess current cardiovascular treatment algorithms for racial bias, the American Heart Association, the single largest non-government supporter of heart and brain health research in the U.S., is funding three new scientific research projects at $50,000 each.

8 Aug 2023

Seeking Medicare coverage for weight loss drugs, pharma giant courts Black influencers

Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has turned to influential Black Americans in pursuit of what would be a lucrative victory: having Medicare cover a new class of weight loss drugs, including the company's highly sought Wegovy, which can cost patients more than $1,000 a month.

8 Aug 2023

Amid lack of accountability for bias in maternity care, a California family seeks justice

Aniya was ready to leave. She was dressed in a fuzzy white onesie her mother had packed for her first trip home. Yet Aniya's family had more questions than answers as they cradled the newborn out of the hospital, her mother's body left behind.

8 Aug 2023

Black and Hispanic individuals with second primary cancer have higher death rates, study finds

In new findings from researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS), non-Hispanic Black individuals diagnosed with a second primary cancer (SPC) experienced 21% higher cancer-related death rates and 41% higher cardiovascular-related death rates compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts.

4 Aug 2023

Racial disparities in mortality rates persist in the United States

An analysis of 19 causes of death in the United States revealed persistent disparities and a familiar pattern across five racial-ethnic groups and 3,110 counties from 2000 to 2019. That's according to the most comprehensive peer-reviewed research published today in The Lancet.

4 Aug 2023

Study highlights need for equitable access to dementia care

Patients who live in less affluent neighborhoods and those from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups are less likely than others to receive specialized care for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates.

2 Aug 2023

Black women weigh emerging risks of ‘creamy crack’ hair straighteners

Deanna Denham Hughes was stunned when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year. She was only 32. She had no family history of cancer, and tests found no genetic link. Hughes wondered why she, an otherwise healthy Black mother of two, would develop a malignancy known as a "silent killer."

1 Aug 2023

$3 million NIH grant awarded to investigate the connections between maternal BMI and childhood obesity

Researchers at Michigan State University and Henry Ford Health received a $3 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases within the National Institutes of Health to study the connections between maternal body mass index, or BMI, and childhood obesity.

25 Jul 2023

Is there an association between dementia risk and neighborhood disadvantage?

Researchers determined the association between the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) quintile and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) incidence.

24 Jul 2023

Did multimodal in-office/telemedicine prenatal care implemented during the pandemic perform similarly to in-office prenatal care?

Researchers compared the performance of a multimodal prenatal health care model combining in-office and telemedicine visits to an in-office-only model between the pre-pandemic and pandemic period.

20 Jul 2023

Research shows redlining's long-term impact on cardiovascular health of Black adults

The risk of heart failure in the present day was higher among Black adults who lived in U.S. zip codes historically impacted by redlining, according to research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship, peer-reviewed journal Circulation.

17 Jul 2023

US mortality rates far higher than peer nations, leading to millions of "Missing Americans"

A new study found that more than one million US deaths a year-;including many young and working-age adults-;could be avoided if the US had mortality rates similar to its peer nations.

17 Jul 2023

Neighborhood environment can increase risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, study reveals

The range of COVID-19 symptoms varies-;some feel a mild cold, others are hospitalized, while others perish. Many studies have linked the severity of COVID-19 symptoms with an individual's biological factors, but less is known about the impact of non-biological factors, such as the environment in which people live.

14 Jul 2023

Health Disparities News and Research

Further Reading

NIH awards $24 million to establish Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence

Gut microbiome variation linked to race and ethnicity arises after 3 months of age

Can machine learning algorithms identify patients at risk of a delay in starting cancer treatment?

MD Anderson awarded four CPRIT grants for cancer prevention programs and recruitment

Scientists discover potential biomarkers linked to metastatic prostate cancer in Black men

Lessons learned from Latin America can help Ireland understand healthy brain aging

Rice University chemist wins $1M NIH grant to address cancer health disparities

American Heart Association funds research to assess racial bias in cardiovascular treatment algorithms

Seeking Medicare coverage for weight loss drugs, pharma giant courts Black influencers

Amid lack of accountability for bias in maternity care, a California family seeks justice

Black and Hispanic individuals with second primary cancer have higher death rates, study finds

Racial disparities in mortality rates persist in the United States

Study highlights need for equitable access to dementia care

Black women weigh emerging risks of ‘creamy crack’ hair straighteners

$3 million NIH grant awarded to investigate the connections between maternal BMI and childhood obesity

Is there an association between dementia risk and neighborhood disadvantage?

Did multimodal in-office/telemedicine prenatal care implemented during the pandemic perform similarly to in-office prenatal care?

Research shows redlining's long-term impact on cardiovascular health of Black adults

US mortality rates far higher than peer nations, leading to millions of "Missing Americans"

Neighborhood environment can increase risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, study reveals

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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