A data brief from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute reveals that Latino neighborhoods in California are disproportionately burdened by climate-related health risks. Authored by Rosario Majano and colleagues, the report outlines how environmental injustice is fueling public health disparities in Latino communities.Compared to non-Latino white neighborhoods, Latino areas experience 1.6 times more extreme heat days and are projected to continue facing elevated temperatures. These neighborhoods also endure 2.7 times more diesel particulate matter and 1.3 times more fine particulate pollution, increasing risks for asthma, heart disease, and lung cancer.Emergency department visits for asthma are twice as high in…
Author: Disparity Matters
A new study published in The Journal of Pediatrics reveals that racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in childhood asthma extend beyond diagnosis to recovery, with non-Hispanic Black children and those from low-income families facing the steepest challenges. Led by Elvin Khanjahani and colleagues, the study analyzed data from over 277,000 children across seven years of the National Survey of Children’s Health.Nationally, 7.4% of children had current asthma, but only 34.7% of those ever diagnosed were considered recovered. Black children had more than twice the odds of having current asthma compared to white children and were 34% less likely to recover.…
A new study is challenging long-standing assumptions about who should be screened for lung cancer. The Female Asian Nonsmoker Screening Study (FANSS) has revealed a striking detection rate of invasive lung adenocarcinoma among Asian women who have never smoked, suggesting that current screening guidelines may be missing a high-risk population.“Historically, within the non-smoking population, Asian women are known to have higher incidences of lung cancer,” said Dr. Elaine Shum of NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, who led the study. Of the 1,000 women screened using low-dose CT scans, 1.3% were diagnosed with invasive lung cancer—higher than the 1.1% detection rate among…
Across the United States, a safer, uterus-sparing treatment for fibroids remains out of reach for many women of color and those with lower incomes. Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) is a minimally invasive alternative to hysterectomy and myomectomy, yet a new analysis finds it “was underutilized with significant disparities across socioeconomic factors.”A team led by Dr. Tarig Elhakim at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed 271,885 hospital encounters for uterine fibroids between 2016 and 2022. While nearly three-quarters of patients underwent hysterectomy and 23% had myomectomy, only 3.5% received UFE. This is despite evidence that, compared with surgery, UFE “is a shorter…
Black men continue to bear a disproportionate burden of prostate cancer, facing a 70 percent higher incidence compared to white men and the highest mortality rates in the United States. According to Dr. Adam B. Murphy of Northwestern University, Puerto Rican men now also rank among the groups with the highest prostate cancer mortality.The Prostate Cancer Foundation has issued new guidelines recommending earlier baseline screening for Black men, starting at age 40 to 45 rather than the standard 50 to 55, with continued monitoring until age 70. This adjustment recognizes the elevated risk these populations face.However, current screening tools may…
Prostate cancer exacts a heavier toll on Black men in the United States than any other demographic, a problem traced in part to limited screening and gaps in primary care. Recent analysis published in JAMA Network Open reveals that Black men are diagnosed with prostate cancer at rates 60% to 80% higher than men of other races, and mortality rates are double. Despite this alarming risk, awareness of early detection benefits remains low among both patients and many healthcare providers.Interviews in the new study illustrate how Black men often rely on their primary-care clinicians to guide screening decisions, yet many…
Despite major improvements in air quality, racial and ethnic disparities in exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) pollution have worsened in California over the past four decades. A new study using high-resolution data from 1980 to 2022 found that Hispanic or Latino individuals experienced nearly three times as many days with NO₂ levels exceeding 50µg/m³ in 2020 compared to non-Hispanic White individuals. In 1980, that gap was just 32%.Researchers used a deep learning framework to estimate daily NO₂ concentrations across California’s 1 km grids, revealing persistent and growing inequities. While overall NO₂ levels declined, relative disparities among Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific…
Syphilis rates in the United States have climbed nearly 80% since 2018—an epidemic revealing deep racial, regional, and behavioral health divides. Recent research using CDC surveillance data exposes especially severe disparities, with American Indian/Alaska Native individuals facing odds nearly eighteen times higher than white peers in 2022. Black Americans follow, with seven times the risk. These increases hit hardest in the Midwest and rural Southern states, notably South Dakota, where the majority of cases involve Indigenous people. Social and systemic barriers play a crucial role. Historical poverty, limited healthcare access, and systemic racism fuel persistent inequities driving infection rates. Healthcare…
Wildfire smoke is becoming an escalating public health threat in America, with disadvantaged neighborhoods and communities of color bearing the worst of its impact. Recent wildfires in Canada poured hazardous smoke into the Midwest and Northeast, unleashing a wave of asthma, lung disease, and cancer risk that disproportionately harms people in low-income, urban, and segregated communities. The effects are compounded in urban “heat islands,” where lack of green space and concrete-dominated landscapes trap heat and smog, raising respiratory risks and adding to the daily dangers faced by residents.For many, standard advice to “stay indoors” or purchase air purifiers and the…
As wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense, the health toll on vulnerable communities is becoming harder to ignore. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has repeatedly blanketed the Midwest and Northeast, triggering asthma, lung disease, and even lung cancer. But not everyone breathes the same air—or bears the same burden.Low-income communities and people of color are disproportionately exposed to poor air quality. Many live in urban heat islands, where concrete traps heat and worsens smog. These neighborhoods often lack tree cover and green space, compounding respiratory risks. “An AQI of 150 is equivalent to smoking seven cigarettes a day,” the article…