Recent studies show that Black Americans are less likely to receive kidney transplants from living donors compared to White Americans. This difference has remained the same over the past decade. Researchers looked at data from 2008 to 2018 and found that among adults waiting for a kidney transplant, about one-third were Black, and two-thirds were White. However, when it came to actually receiving a kidney from a living donor, only 14.1% of the recipients were Black, while 85.9% were White. Several factors contribute to this disparity. Black Americans often face challenges such as financial difficulties, poor communication with healthcare providers,…
Author: Disparity Matters
A groundbreaking study led by University of Wisconsin assistant professor Shaneda Warren Andersen (above), alongside UW cancer researcher Tom Lawler and PhD candidate Zoe Walts, has unveiled significant disparities in cancer risks among marginalized communities, particularly focusing on the link between Type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer in Black Americans and lower socioeconomic groups. The research, aiming to fill the gap left by previous studies predominantly conducted on white populations, discovered that these underrepresented groups face increased risk factors for colorectal cancer associated with Type 2 diabetes. The team emphasized the necessity of including diverse populations in medical research to…
A new study from the University of Wisconsin found that Black Americans and people who don’t make a lot of money are more likely to get colon cancer if they have Type 2 diabetes. This is compared to white people with diabetes. The study was done by Shaneda Warren Andersen, Tom Lawler, and Zoe Walts. They wanted to make sure they studied people from different backgrounds because other studies didn’t always do that. The study shows that some groups of people have more health problems because they aren’t included in medical research as often and can’t always get the…
The Food and Drug Administration’s plan to consider banning formaldehyde in hair-straightening products, tentatively scheduled for April, is facing criticism as too little, too late. Scientists and advocates argue the proposal inadequately addresses health risks disproportionately affecting Black women, who are the primary users of chemical hair straighteners. Recent studies have linked frequent use of hair relaxers to increased risks of breast, ovarian and uterine cancers. While formaldehyde has been classified as a carcinogen since 2011, experts say other hazardous chemicals in straighteners likely contribute to these hormone-driven cancers. “The fact that formaldehyde is still allowed in hair care products…
Black women in the United States are murdered at dramatically higher rates than white women, revealing a stark health disparity rooted in structural racism. Research from Columbia University analyzing data from 1999 through 2020 found Black women were six times more likely to be killed than their white counterparts, with some states showing even more extreme differences.In 2020, the homicide rate among Black women reached 11.6 per 100,000 population compared to just 3.0 per 100,000 for white women. These numbers remained virtually unchanged over two decades, demonstrating persistent inequities. Wisconsin showed the most extreme disparity in 2019-2020, where Black women…
Native Americans are significantly underrepresented on the national liver transplant list in the United States, despite experiencing the highest death rates from liver disease. An investigation by The Markup and The Washington Post revealed that white individuals are nearly three times more likely to be placed on the transplant list compared to Native Americans, based on an analysis of four years of transplant data.The study found that if transplant rates were equitable, approximately 1,000 more Native Americans would have received liver transplants between 2018 and 2021. The data indicates that access to the transplant list is a critical factor in…
Emory University neuroscientist Negar Fani and Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Nathaniel Harnett have revealed that racial discrimination can lead to significant brain alterations and increased disease risk, particularly dementia, in Black populations. Their research, part of the nearly two-decade-long Grady Trauma Project, focuses on the trauma and stress experienced by Black individuals in Atlanta, Georgia.The findings come at a time when the United States is grappling with a racial reckoning, highlighted by the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black communities. This public health crisis has cast a spotlight on the persistent health disparities that have been documented by…
he Food and Drug Administration is moving to ban formaldehyde in hair straightening products amid growing concerns over cancer risks, particularly for Black women who are disproportionately affected by hazardous chemicals in hair relaxers. The proposed ban, expected to be introduced in April, follows years of advocacy and research highlighting the dangers of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen linked to cancers of the respiratory tract and leukemia. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Tamarra James-Todd has emphasized the presence of harmful chemicals in products marketed to African Americans, including phthalates and parabens, which are associated with reproductive cancers. The FDA’s…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being criticized for taking too long to ban formaldehyde, a chemical known to cause cancer, from hair-straightening products mostly used by Black women. Even though a federal agency said formaldehyde was a human carcinogen (a substance that causes cancer) over ten years ago, the FDA is only now thinking about banning it. They plan to propose the ban in April. Linda Birnbaum, who used to be in charge of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, was shocked by how slow the FDA has been to act.…
A new study reveals significant racial disparities in treatment and survival rates among older patients with multiple myeloma (MM), despite advancements in therapeutic agents. The research, published in Cancer Medicine, found that African American patients aged 66 and older were less likely to receive treatment in the first year after diagnosis compared to their White counterparts. The study analyzed Medicare records of patients diagnosed with MM between 2007 and 2017. Results showed that 59.5% of African American patients received treatment within the first year, compared to 64.8% of White patients. This racial gap in treatment rates widened over time, increasing…