Artificial intelligence tools used in healthcare are quietly amplifying disparities for racial and ethnic minorities. A recent MIT study found that large language models—like GPT-4 and Palmyra-Med—gave different treatment advice based on subtle, medically irrelevant changes in how patients phrased their questions.When patients used informal language, typos, or emotional tones—common among people with limited English or lower health literacy—the models often recommended less care. In some cases, patients who should have been told to seek medical attention were advised to stay home.The disparities were especially stark for women and non-binary individuals, but racial and ethnic minorities were also affected. The…
Author: Disparity Matters
Millions of Americans are living with heart failure, and new evidence shows this epidemic is especially dire for Black communities. Fresh data from the Heart Failure Society of America reveal that 6.7 million U.S. adults are grappling with this life-threatening illness, a number projected to soar to 11.4 million by 2050. The odds of developing heart failure are starkly uneven; Black adults face substantially higher risk than any other racial or ethnic group.Risk factors—including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease—are driving heart failure prevalence upward, with many patients managing multiple conditions at once. These preexisting health burdens disproportionately affect…
New national data show that heart failure is surging across the United States—and the burden falls disproportionately on Black Americans.About 6.7 million adults over age 20 are currently living with heart failure, according to a new analysis from the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA). That number is projected to climb sharply, reaching 11.4 million by 2050. The report warns that “one in four Americans will develop HF in their lifetime,” and the odds are even higher for Black adults than for any other racial or ethnic group.The findings highlight a storm of intersecting risks. The report notes that adults…
Heart attacks have become more survivable in recent decades, yet a new Florida study shows that survival gains are not shared equally across racial and ethnic groups. Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black patients who suffer a severe type of heart attack known as ST-elevation myocardial infarction are less likely to receive the recommended treatment, percutaneous coronary intervention, than non-Hispanic white patients.Researchers analyzed 139,629 STEMI cases in Florida between 2011 and 2021, tracing each step in the emergency care pathway. They examined whether patients arrived at hospitals capable of performing PCI, whether they actually received the procedure, and whether those initially seen…
Major adverse cardiovascular events—serious problems including heart attack, stroke, repeat heart surgeries, and death—still show stark racial and sex disparities after coronary artery bypass surgery, according to one of the most extensive health system reviews in California.In more than 7,400 patients followed up to 12 years, “female, Black, and Other (Native American, multiethnic or missing race or ethnicity) groups had the greatest incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events—including heart attack, stroke, and repeat operations.” While survival improved for Asian and South Asian patients, the risk of poor outcomes lingered for Black patients. “Occurrence of any major adverse cardiovascular event was…
Black Americans face a risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias that is roughly twice that of white Americans their age, and researchers are tracing that gap to a lifetime of discrimination, environmental hazards and unequal access to care and prevention. Studies link racism, neighborhood conditions and underfunded schools to higher rates of heart disease, vascular damage and ultimately cognitive decline in Black communities. Scientists point to modifiable risks such as poor education, midlife obesity, sedentary lifestyles and air pollution as powerful drivers of dementia, but note that these harms fall disproportionately on Black and Hispanic neighborhoods that have been…
Uterine fibroids affect tens of millions of women, yet many live for years with debilitating symptoms before receiving care, a delay that falls hardest on Black women. A Newsweek investigation reports that by age 50, 65% to 70% of women will develop fibroids, but the disease is “much more common and more severe” among Black women, who are three times more likely to be diagnosed than White women.Erica Marsh, MD, head of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Michigan Health, told Newsweek that fibroids are among the most prevalent conditions in women’s health, yet diagnosis and treatment lag.…
New federal data show that suicide rates in the United States have remained stable overall from 2018 to 2023, but the burden has shifted unequally across racial and ethnic groups. Rates increased significantly among Black and Hispanic populations, while declining among White and Asian Americans.Among Black Americans, suicide rates rose 25.2% over the five-year period. The increase was especially steep among youth and middle-aged adults, with rates jumping 29.4% for those aged 10–24 and 29.2% for those aged 25–44. Hispanic Americans aged 25–44 also saw a 25.2% increase.In contrast, suicide rates among White Americans declined by 3.1%, with notable drops…
Urgent attention is being called to gaps in lung cancer screening guidelines as research shows significant risks for never-smokers in minority communities, especially Asian women. Despite never having smoked, many individuals remain at a surprisingly high risk for developing lung cancer, with Asian women identified as a group developing the disease at similar rates compared to those with established risk factors.Leading the research, Dr. Elaine Shum and her team conducted the Female Asian Nonsmoker Screening Study (FANSS), testing 1,000 Asian women ages 40 to 74 who never smoked. Shockingly, the rate of lung cancer detected was even higher than among…
New research has shed light on the surprising risk of lung cancer among Asian women who have never smoked—a group almost entirely excluded from current screening guidelines. The Female Asian Nonsmoker Screening Study (FANSS) found that 1.3 out of every 1,000 Asian women with no smoking history were detected with lung cancer. Dr. Elaine Shum of NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center noted, “As a thoracic medical oncologist in New York City, we have a fair amount of Asian patients, and unfortunately, the majority of them with lung cancer have no smoking history and were initially presenting with stage IV disease.”The FANSS…