A new study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC reveals that air pollution exposure during childhood may set off a chain reaction leading to insulin resistance in young adulthood—and minority communities may be especially vulnerable. Researchers found that changes in body mass index (BMI) during adolescence explain nearly half of the link between early exposure to traffic-related air pollution and insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes. “We estimated about 42% of the relationship between early pollution exposure and insulin resistance can be explained by accelerated BMI growth trajectories,” said Fangqi Guo, PhD, MPH, lead author and…
Author: Disparity Matters
A major shift in prostate cancer screening policy may have unintentionally deepened health disparities, particularly among minority communities. In 2012, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) downgraded routine PSA screening to a grade D, aiming to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment. However, new findings presented at the American Urological Association meeting suggest the change led to more advanced disease at diagnosis and poorer surgical outcomes.Dr. Minh Nguyen of the University of North Carolina reported that men diagnosed after the screening downgrade had significantly worse pathology. A retrospective analysis of over 560,000 men who underwent prostatectomy revealed increased odds of positive…
A new study has revealed that type 2 diabetes is linked to thinning of the brain’s cortex in older adults, with the most pronounced effects seen in Hispanic individuals. Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine at USC and collaborators used advanced neuroimaging to examine cortical thickness and hippocampal volume in a diverse group of older adults. Their findings point to a troubling intersection of chronic disease and racial health disparities.The study found that individuals with type 2 diabetes had significantly thinner cortices, especially in the temporal and parietal regions—areas critical for memory and cognition. Poor blood sugar control, measured…
A new study highlights how social determinants of health (SDoH)—such as poverty, education, and racism—are often buried in clinical notes, and how this lack of structured documentation may deepen health disparities, especially for minority communities. Researchers from Yale and collaborating institutions used large language models (LLMs) to extract SDoH from unstructured clinical notes across four U.S. healthcare systems. The study found that social factors like low education, racism, and poverty contribute to hundreds of thousands of deaths annually—numbers comparable to leading causes of disease-related mortality. Yet, these factors are inconsistently recorded in electronic health records. “The lack of specific EHR…
Black women face eviction at disproportionately high rates—and the consequences go far beyond housing. A new study reveals that eviction, whether legal or illegal, is a major driver of poor health outcomes among Black women of reproductive age.In a survey of over 1,400 Black women across three Michigan counties, half reported experiencing eviction at some point in their lives. What’s more alarming is that nearly half of those evictions were illegal. These weren’t just cases of nonpayment. Many were tied to unlawful reasons like sexual harassment, retaliation, and illegal lockouts—actions that violate the Fair Housing Act.Dr. Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson, lead author…
Black women in the United States continue to face alarming disparities in ovarian cancer outcomes, and new trends suggest the gap may be widening. According to CK Wang, MD, chief medical officer of COTA, Black women are disproportionately diagnosed with advanced-stage ovarian and breast cancers. This disparity is exacerbated by systemic barriers to care and a lack of effective screening tools.“There is no good screening tool” for ovarian cancer, Dr. Wang explained, noting that vague symptoms often delay diagnosis. Without early detection, Black women—already more likely to be diagnosed at later stages—face even greater risks. The shortage of gynecologic oncologists…
A new national study reveals that while more mothers of preterm infants are providing breast milk than a decade ago, significant racial and ethnic disparities remain—particularly for Black mothers. Researchers analyzed data from over 1.5 million mother-infant pairs between 2009 and 2019 and found that Black mothers had the lowest rates of both initiating and continuing breast milk provision at 12 weeks postpartum. Initiation rates were highest among Asian mothers (92.8%), followed by Hispanic (88.1%), White (84.1%), and Black mothers (75.3%). Continuation at 12 weeks showed a similar pattern, with Asian mothers again leading (65.4%) and Black mothers trailing (34.3%).…
A new study reveals that Black communities in California experience significantly longer ambulance patient offload times (APOT), a critical but often overlooked measure of emergency care access. Researchers analyzed nearly 6 million ambulance offloads across 34 emergency medical service (EMS) agencies from 2021 to 2023 and found that the proportion of Black residents in a community was the strongest predictor of delayed offloads.A 3.3% increase in the proportion of Black residents—from the 25th to the 75th percentile—was associated with an 11.8-minute longer APOT, even after adjusting for socioeconomic and EMS system factors. This delay means patients wait longer for emergency…
A troubling trend is emerging in cancer statistics: lung cancer rates are rising among Asian American women who have never smoked. From 2007 to 2018, these rates increased by approximately 2% annually, even as lung cancer declined in other groups. More than half of Asian American women diagnosed with lung cancer have no history of smoking, prompting researchers to call it a hidden epidemic.Environmental exposures may be part of the puzzle. Cooking oil fumes and secondhand smoke have long been linked to lung cancer in Asian women abroad, but little research has focused on Asian American women. Air pollution is…
Fewer than 3% of eligible Americans with obesity are prescribed GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide or tirzepatide, despite their proven benefits. A new analysis of 39 million adults without type 2 diabetes reveals stark disparities in who receives these medications—disparities that fall sharply along racial, socioeconomic, and geographic lines.Non-Hispanic white patients were the most likely to be prescribed a GLP-1 drug at 2.4%, while non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Asian patients had lower rates at 2.3%, 1.8%, and 1.7%, respectively. People living in the most socially vulnerable areas—those facing poverty, poor housing, and limited healthcare access—were also less likely to…