Racial/ethnic disparities in the association between fine particles and respiratory hospital admissions in San Diego county, CA

Socio-economic and racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare quality have been the point of huge discussion and debate. There is currently a public debate over healthcare legislation in the United States to eliminate the disparities in healthcare. We reviewed the literature and critically examined standard socio-economic and racial/ethnic measurement approaches. As a result of the literature review, we identified and discussed the limitations in existing quality assessment for identifying and addressing these disparities. The aim of this research was to investigate the difference between health outcomes based on patients’ ability to pay and ethnic status during a single emergency admission. We conducted a multifactorial analysis using the 11-year admissions data from a single hospital to test the bias in short-term health outcomes for length of stay and death rate, based on ‘payment type’ and ‘race’, for emergency hospital admissions. Inconclusive findings for racial bias in outcomes may be influenced by different insurance and demographic profiles by race. As a result, we found that the Self-Pay (no insurance) category has the shortest statistically significant length of stay. While the differences between Medicare, Private and Government are not significant, Self-Pay was significantly shorter. That ‘Whites’ have more Medicare (older) patients than ‘Blacks’ might possibly lead to a longer length of stay and higher death rate for the group.

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Racial/ethnic composition, social disorganization, and offsite alcohol availability in San Diego County, California

Social Science Research ◽

10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.04.006 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

pp. 165-175 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Amie L. Nielsen ◽

Terrence D. Hill ◽

Michael T. French ◽

Monique N. Hernandez

Keyword(s):

Social Disorganization ◽

San Diego ◽

Ethnic Composition ◽

San Diego County ◽

Alcohol Availability ◽

Racial Ethnic

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Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Hospital Admissions

10.1101/2020.07.12.20152017 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Violeta Alvarez Retamales ◽

Oswaldo Madrid Suarez ◽

Odalys Estefania Lara-Garcia ◽

Suhayb Ranjha ◽

Ruby Maini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hospital Admission ◽

Hospital Admissions ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Ethnic Disparities ◽

Black Population ◽

Admission Data ◽

Asian Pacific Islander ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Asian Pacific ◽

Racial Ethnic

Importance: COVID-19 has affected millions of people worldwide. Furthermore, with its increasing incidence, more has been learned about the risk factors that can make certain groups more at risk of contracting the disease or have worse outcomes. We aim to identify any discrepancy in the hospitalization rate by race/ethnicity of patients who tested positive for COVID-19, and through this, analyze the risks of these groups in an effort to call out for attention to the circumstances that make them more vulnerable and susceptible to disease. Observations: Analysis indicates that patients identified as non-Hispanic White and Asian/Pacific Islander in hospital admission data are underrepresented in COVID-19 admissions. Patients identified as non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian have a disproportionate burden of hospital admissions, suggesting an increased risk of more severe disease. Conclusions and Relevance: There is a disproportionate rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations found among non-Hispanic Blacks. Further investigation is imperative to identify and remediate the reason(s) for increased vulnerability to COVID-19 infections requiring hospital admission. These efforts would likely reduce the COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in the non-Hispanic Black population.

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P4-370: RACIAL-ETHNIC DISPARITIES IN ALZHEIMER'S RISK: ROLE OF EXPOSURE TO AMBIENT FINE PARTICLES

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2018.07.194 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 14 (7S_Part_30) ◽

pp. P1613-P1613

Author(s):

Diana Younan ◽

Xinhui Wang ◽

Fred Lurmann ◽

Marc Serre ◽

William Vizuete ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fine Particles ◽

Ethnic Disparities ◽

Racial Ethnic

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Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease Risk: Role of Exposure to Ambient Fine Particles

The Journals of Gerontology Series A ◽

10.1093/gerona/glab231 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Diana Younan ◽

Xinhui Wang ◽

Tara Gruenewald ◽

Margaret Gatz ◽

Marc L Serre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Black Women ◽

Racial Disparities ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Ethnic Disparities ◽

Socioeconomic Characteristics ◽

Incident Cases ◽

Racial Ethnic

Abstract Background Whether racial/ethnic disparities in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk may be explained by ambient fine particles (PM2.5) has not been studied. Methods We conducted a prospective, population-based study on a cohort of Black (n=481) and White (n=6004) older women (aged 65-79) without dementia at enrollment (1995-98). Cox models accounting for competing risk were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for racial/ethnic disparities in AD (1996-2010) defined by DSM-IV and the association with time-varying annual average PM2.5 (1999-2010) estimated by spatiotemporal model. Results Over an average follow-up of 8.3 (±3.5) years with 158 incident cases (21 in Black women), the racial disparities in AD risk (range of adjusted HRBlack women = 1.85-2.41) observed in various models could not be explained by geographic region, age, socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle factors, cardiovascular risk factors, and hormone therapy assignment. Estimated PM2.5 exposure was higher in Black (14.38±2.21 µg/m 3) than in White (12.55±2.76 µg/m 3) women, and further adjustment for the association between PM2.5 and AD (adjusted HRPM2.5 = 1.18-1.28) slightly reduced the racial disparities by 2-6% (HRBlack women = 1.81-2.26). The observed association between PM2.5 and AD risk was ~2 times greater in Black (HRPM2.5 = 2.10-2.60) than in White (HRPM2.5 = 1.07-1.15) women (range of interaction Ps: <.01 to .01). We found similar results after further adjusting for social engagement (social strain; social support; social activity; living alone), stressful life events, WHI clinic sites, and neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics. Conclusions PM2.5 may contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in AD risk and its associated increase in AD risk was stronger amongst Black women.

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