African-American children in the D.C. area with asthma have lower levels of Vitamin D than non-asthmatic African-American children, according to a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
In light of another recent study which found that Vitamin D deficiency may cause prostate cancer among black men, this study provides further evidence that vitamin D plays a significant role in staying healthy.
"It's been well-documented that as a group, African Americans are more likely than other racial groups to have low levels of vitamin D," said Robert Freishtat, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine physician and the study's lead author. "But we were shocked to see that almost all of the African American children with asthma that we tested had low vitamin D levels."
For the study, researchers measured vitamin D levels in blood samples of 85 African American children with asthma, between 6 and 20 years of age and found that after adjusting for difference in age, weight, and the time of year of the testing, the odds of these kids with asthma being vitamin D deficient were nearly twenty times those of health kids. 86% of the participants with asthma had insufficient levels of vitamin D, while only 19% of non-asthmatics experienced these low levels.
"The District of Columbia has among the highest rates of pediatric asthma in the United States, and we're working to find out why," concluded Stephen Teach, MD, MPH, senior author of the study. "For African American kids with asthma, vitamin D testing and ensuring adequate vitamin D intake may need to become necessary steps in their primary care."
Showing posts with label Blacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blacks. Show all posts
March 9, 2010
African-Americans More Likely To Suffer From Alzheimer Than Whites
African-Americans and Hispanics have a greater risk of developing Alzheimers disease than other races, according to a report published by the Alzheimer’s Association.
While Caucasians make up the majority of the 5 million people effected by Alzheimers, the study found that African-Americans are about 2 times more likely and Hispanics are about 1.5 times more likely than their Caucasian counterparts.
The report points out that health and socioeconomic factors probably contribute to the greater prevalence of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in African-Americans and Hispanics.
“Alzheimer’s disease is the single largest, looming, unaddressed public health threat facing the nation, but we now know the threat is even more substantial in the African-American and Hispanic communities,” said Harry Johns, Alzheimer’s Association President and CEO. “These groups are more likely to have Alzheimer’s, less likely to know it and, as a result, less likely to receive available treatments and supportive services that can help them cope with the disease.”
Moreover, the report also revealed that African-Americans and Hispanics are less likely than Caucasians to have a formal diagnosis of their condition.
“The Association is committed to increasing awareness about risk factors for Alzheimer’s and other dementias among all Americans,” said Johns. “Greater understanding about the importance of proper management of diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes will allow individuals to make more informed health care decisions and adopt healthy life style behaviors that can also help to reduce Alzheimer and dementia risk.”
While Caucasians make up the majority of the 5 million people effected by Alzheimers, the study found that African-Americans are about 2 times more likely and Hispanics are about 1.5 times more likely than their Caucasian counterparts.
The report points out that health and socioeconomic factors probably contribute to the greater prevalence of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in African-Americans and Hispanics.
“Alzheimer’s disease is the single largest, looming, unaddressed public health threat facing the nation, but we now know the threat is even more substantial in the African-American and Hispanic communities,” said Harry Johns, Alzheimer’s Association President and CEO. “These groups are more likely to have Alzheimer’s, less likely to know it and, as a result, less likely to receive available treatments and supportive services that can help them cope with the disease.”
Moreover, the report also revealed that African-Americans and Hispanics are less likely than Caucasians to have a formal diagnosis of their condition.
“The Association is committed to increasing awareness about risk factors for Alzheimer’s and other dementias among all Americans,” said Johns. “Greater understanding about the importance of proper management of diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes will allow individuals to make more informed health care decisions and adopt healthy life style behaviors that can also help to reduce Alzheimer and dementia risk.”
March 5, 2010
Minority Boys Turn To Smoking After Facing Discrimination
Minority boys, but not girls, turn to smoking when they perceive discrimination, according to a study published in the March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine conducted a study of 2,561 black and Latino adolescents, 12-19 years old, from low-income households in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, and found that 1 in 4 of the participants reported discrimination at least once within the last 6 months.
The findings of the study revealed that while minority boys smoked more when they perceived discrimination there was no association between perceived discrimination and smoking in minority girls, 12-15 years old.
"Boys and girls may experience discriminiation differently due to where they spend time and that may account for the differences in wheter discrimination was associated with smoking," said Sarah Wiehe, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine. "We need to be aware that discrimination is a public health problem for adolescents - one related to major health issues like smoking - and need to actively work to reduce these occurrences."
Dr. Wiehe suggested that boys' increased smoking in higher discrimination settings may be a result of increased stress from gender-specific targeting by police and businesses. "Because of the vrey high smoking rates among young minority men, law enforcement, schools, and health care providers need to work closely with communities to prevent smoking initiation," said J. Dennis Fortenberry, MD, MS, professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and senior author of the paper.
Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine conducted a study of 2,561 black and Latino adolescents, 12-19 years old, from low-income households in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, and found that 1 in 4 of the participants reported discrimination at least once within the last 6 months.
The findings of the study revealed that while minority boys smoked more when they perceived discrimination there was no association between perceived discrimination and smoking in minority girls, 12-15 years old.
"Boys and girls may experience discriminiation differently due to where they spend time and that may account for the differences in wheter discrimination was associated with smoking," said Sarah Wiehe, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine. "We need to be aware that discrimination is a public health problem for adolescents - one related to major health issues like smoking - and need to actively work to reduce these occurrences."
Dr. Wiehe suggested that boys' increased smoking in higher discrimination settings may be a result of increased stress from gender-specific targeting by police and businesses. "Because of the vrey high smoking rates among young minority men, law enforcement, schools, and health care providers need to work closely with communities to prevent smoking initiation," said J. Dennis Fortenberry, MD, MS, professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and senior author of the paper.
March 3, 2010
Doctors Misdiagnose More Black Men With Mental Illness Than Other Races
Researchers from the University of Michigan report in a recent study that black men are over-diagnosed with schizophrenia at least 5 five higher than any other group.
When Jonathan Metzl, an associate professor of psychiatry and women's studies at University of Michigan analyzed archived data from the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane he discovered that black men, particularly from Detroit during the civil rights era, were admitted and often misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.
"Some patients became schizophrenic because of changes in their diagnosis rahter than their clinical symptoms," Dr. Metzl reported. "Multicultural training is important, but it often does little to address how assumptions about race are strutucally embedded into health care delivery systems."
The findings from Dr. Metzl's study are published in his new book, "The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease."
When Jonathan Metzl, an associate professor of psychiatry and women's studies at University of Michigan analyzed archived data from the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane he discovered that black men, particularly from Detroit during the civil rights era, were admitted and often misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.
"Some patients became schizophrenic because of changes in their diagnosis rahter than their clinical symptoms," Dr. Metzl reported. "Multicultural training is important, but it often does little to address how assumptions about race are strutucally embedded into health care delivery systems."
The findings from Dr. Metzl's study are published in his new book, "The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease."
Chinese Food and Other Resturant Foods May be Linked To Increased Risk of Diabetes in African-American Women
African-American women who consume restaurant foods face a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
To investigate the association between consumption of foods prepared outside the home and health outcomes of African-American women, researchers from Boston University analyzed data from 44,073 women, 30-69 years old who completed questionnaires that asked about the frequency of eating meals from resturants of various types. During the study period investigators reported that 2,873 cases of type 2 diabetes occured.
The results of the study revealed that the consumption of resturant meals, including hamburgers, fried foods, and Chinesee food were independently associationed with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
"The present study has identified a risk factor for type 2 diabetes that may be readily modifiable by dietery changes," the authors concluded.
Jamaican Men with Bigger Waistlines Have an Increase Risk of Developing Prostate Cancer
Having larger waistlines increase the risk of developing prostate cancer in Jamiacan men, say researchers from the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.
In a study of 518 men, 243 of whom were newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer, Maria Jackson MD and collegues collected data from the study particpants on medical and lifestyle factors and found that compared with men in the normal range of waist-hip ratio (WHR), men with higer abdominal obesity were are greater risk of developing prostate cancer.
Furthermore, even with additional control for body mass index (BMI), the association with WHR remained signifiant for total prostate cancer.
"Abdominal obesity may be associated with risk of high-grade prostate cancer," the authors wrote. "The results further highlight the importance of investigating relationships by characteristing of the tumor."
The study's findings were published in February 2010 issue of the journal Cancer Causes & Control.
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