The murder of Black women represents a critical yet overlooked public health crisis in the United States. Black women, including transgender Black women, experience significantly higher murder rates compared to white women, facing elevated risks from both intimate partner violence and police encounters.Researchers highlight how stereotypes surrounding Black women may lower inhibitions against violence, making them targets for both intimate partners and law enforcement. These pervasive stereotypes compound an already dangerous situation, contributing to lethal outcomes that devastate families and entire communities.Structural inequalities play a significant role in these disparities. Black communities face heightened exposure to violence and intensified policing,…
Author: Disparity Matters
Women of African ancestry face strikingly similar breast cancer patterns whether they live in Ghana or the United States, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. The findings reveal troubling disparities that suggest biological susceptibility may play a role in cancer risk for these populations.Researchers from the National Cancer Institute examined breast tumor data from over 1,000 Ghanaian women and more than 120,000 American women. They discovered that both Ghanaian women and Black women in the U.S. experience ER-negative breast cancer at nearly identical rates—approximately 43 cases per 100,000 women. These rates are substantially higher than the 24 cases…
A new study reveals troubling disparities in access to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), medications increasingly prescribed for diabetes and obesity. Researchers found that Black and Hispanic patients were significantly less likely to fill prescriptions for these drugs compared to white patients, despite having higher rates of the conditions they treat.Analyzing nearly 10,000 GLP-1RA orders from the University of Colorado Health system, the study showed that only 55.3% of Black patients and 58.4% of Hispanic patients filled their prescriptions, compared to 60.9% of white patients. The gap persisted even among those with insurance.Out-of-pocket costs varied widely. Black patients paid an…
In a major shift toward health equity, Boston Medical Center has adopted race-neutral reference equations for pulmonary function testing (PFT), a move that challenges decades of race-based medical norms. As reported by Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD, and Ellen Strenger in The Cardiology Advisor, this transition reflects growing concern that race-specific equations “codify race and contribute to health disparities by norming differences in lung function.”Historically, PFTs assumed Black individuals had inherently lower lung function than White individuals. This belief, rooted in 19th-century scientific racism, persisted into modern clinical practice. “Differences in lung function reflected the social conditions experienced by Black Americans,”…
A new national report paints a stark picture of how unevenly cancer is experienced across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines in the United States. The authors describe “substantial disparities across the cancer continuum,” from risk factors and screening to survival and mortality. Those gaps fall heaviest on Black and American Indian/Alaska Native communities, who faced the highest cancer mortality rates between 2019 and 2023.Black adults experienced higher mortality than White adults at nearly every step, even when incidence was lower. The report notes that overall cancer mortality was “10% higher in Black females than in White females” despite lower incidence…
Preoperative breast MRI can improve surgical planning for breast cancer patients by detecting additional lesions and guiding biopsies. Yet, a recent study reveals persistent disparities in who receives this critical imaging. Black women, older patients, and those with Medicaid or Medicare are significantly less likely to undergo preoperative MRI compared to white women and those with commercial insurance.Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine analyzed data from 1,792 patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 2016 and 2022. They found that only 44% of Black women received a preoperative MRI, compared to 55% of white women and 62% of women of other races.…
Cognitive disabilities are rising sharply in the United States, especially among younger adults and racial and ethnic minorities. A new study published in Neurology analyzed 4.5 million responses from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System between 2013 and 2023 and found that self-reported cognitive disability increased from 5% to 7% nationwide. Defined as “serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions,” cognitive disability rates doubled among adults aged 18 to 39—from 1 in 20 to 1 in 10. The highest rates were consistently observed among American Indian and Alaska Native individuals, followed by Black and Hispanic adults. The study also found…
A recent analysis published by researchers from Boston University School of Public Health and the University of Miami reveals that Latino gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are being overlooked in the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative (EHE). Despite being disproportionately affected by HIV, only 19 of the 57 priority jurisdictions explicitly identified the needs of Latino sexual minority men in their EHE plans.Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, co-author of the study, emphasized that this population is not monolithic. “Mexican-born men in Chicago often delay HIV care due to poverty and stigma,” he said, while “Central American…
A major new study reveals that Black men in the United States face the highest risk of dying prematurely when obesity intersects with social disadvantage. Led by Dr. Jerrin Philip and colleagues, the research analyzed data from over 136,000 adults and found that the combination of severe obesity and unfavorable social determinants of health (SDoH) creates a deadly synergy.Men with class 3 obesity and high SDoH burden—such as low income, food insecurity, and limited education—had a 3.95-fold increased risk of premature death compared to those with no obesity and low social disadvantage. Among non-Hispanic Black men, the risk remained alarmingly…
Endometrial cancer is on the rise, and so are the disparities in survival rates. While white women diagnosed with the disease have an 84% five-year survival rate, Black women face a significantly lower rate of just 63%. This alarming gap has prompted a major federal investment aimed at understanding and closing the divide.Researchers at the University of North Carolina have been awarded an $11.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to investigate why Black women are more likely to die from endometrial cancer. The team, led by Dr. Victoria Bae-Jump and Dr. Hazel Nichols, will explore both biological and…