scholarly journals Cortisol and Racial Health Disparities Affecting Black Men in Later Life: Evidence From MIDUS II

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 155798831987096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Ober Allen ◽  
Daphne C. Watkins ◽  
Linda Chatters ◽  
Arline T. Geronimus ◽  
Vicki Johnson-Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Black Men ◽  
White Men ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Health Disparities ◽  
Medical Morbidity

In the United States, Black men have poorer overall health and shorter life spans than most other racial/ethnic groups of men, largely attributable to chronic health conditions. Dysregulated patterns of daily cortisol, an indicator of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis stress–response functioning, are linked to poor health outcomes. Questions remain regarding whether and how cortisol contributes to Black–White differences in men’s health. This exploratory study compared early day changes in cortisol levels (diurnal cortisol slopes from peak to pre-lunch levels) and their associations with medical morbidity (number of chronic medical conditions) and psychological distress (Negative Affect Scale) among 695 Black and White male participants in the National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS II, 2004–2009). Black men exhibited blunted cortisol slopes relative to White men (−.15 vs. −.21, t = −2.97, p = .004). Cortisol slopes were associated with medical morbidity among Black men ( b = .050, t = 3.85, p < .001), but not White men, and were unrelated to psychological distress in both groups. Findings indicate cortisol may contribute to racial health disparities among men through two pathways, including the novel finding that Black men may be more vulnerable to some negative health outcomes linked to cortisol. Further, results suggest that while cortisol may be a mechanism of physical health outcomes and disparities among older men, it may be less important for their emotional health. This study increases understanding of how race and male sex intersect to affect not only men’s lived experiences but also their biological processes to contribute to racial health disparities among men in later life.

Abstract 15: Trends in Atrial Fibrillation-related Cardiovascular Mortality Rates in The United States: 1999-2017

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 141 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiro Tanaka ◽  
Nilay Shah ◽  
Rod Passman ◽  
Philip Greenland ◽  
Sadiya Khan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
White Men ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Black And White

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in adults and the prevalence is increasing due to the aging of the population and the growing burden of vascular risk factors. Although deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) death have dramatically decreased in recent years, trends in AF-related CVD death has not been previously investigated. Purpose: We sought to quantify trends in AF-related CVD death rates in the United States. Methods: AF-related CVD death was ascertained using the CDC WONDER online database. AF-related CVD deaths were identified by listing CVD (I00-I78) as underlying cause of death and AF (I48) as contributing cause of death among persons aged 35 to 84 years. We calculated age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) per 100,000 population, and examined trends over time estimating average annual percent change (AAPC) using Joinpoint Regression Program (National Cancer Institute). Subgroup analyses were performed to compare AAMRs by sex-race (black and white men and women) and across two age groups (younger: 35-64 years, older 65-84 years). Results: A total of 522,104 AF-related CVD deaths were identified between 1999 and 2017. AAMR increased from 16.0 to 22.2 per 100,000 from 1999 to 2017 with an acceleration following an inflection point in 2009. AAPC before 2009 was significantly lower than that after 2009 [0.4% (95% CI, 0.0 - 0.7) vs 3.5% (95% CI, 3.1 - 3.9), p < 0.001). The increase of AAMR was observed across black and white men and women overall and in both age groups (FIGURE), with a more pronounced increase in black men and white men. Black men had the highest AAMR among the younger decedents, whereas white men had the highest AAMR among the older decedents. Conclusion: This study revealed that death rate for AF-related CVD has increased over the last two decades and that there are greater black-white disparities in younger decedents (<65 years). Targeting equitable risk factor reduction that predisposes to AF and CVD mortality is needed to reduce observed health inequities.

scholarly journals Addressing Health Disparities in the Undergraduate Curriculum: An Approach to Develop a Knowledgeable Biomedical Workforce

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocio Benabentos ◽  
Payal Ray ◽  
Deepak Kumar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
The United States ◽  
Undergraduate Institutions ◽  
Minority Serving Institutions

Disparities in health and healthcare are a major concern in the United States and worldwide. Approaches to alleviate these disparities must be multifaceted and should include initiatives that touch upon the diverse areas that influence the healthcare system. Developing a strong biomedical workforce with an awareness of the issues concerning health disparities is crucial for addressing this issue. Establishing undergraduate health disparities courses that are accessible to undergraduate students in the life sciences is necessary to increase students’ understanding and awareness of these issues and motivate them to address these disparities during their careers. The majority of universities do not include courses related to health disparities in their curricula, and only a few universities manage them from their life sciences departments. The figures are especially low for minority-serving institutions, which serve students from communities disproportionally affected by health disparities. Universities should consider several possible approaches to infuse their undergraduate curricula with health disparities courses or activities. Eliminating health disparities will require efforts from diverse stakeholders. Undergraduate institutions can play an important role in developing an aware biomedical workforce and helping to close the gap in health outcomes.

scholarly journals Does place explain racial health disparities? Quantifying the contribution of residential context to the Black/white health gap in the United States

2008 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 1258-1268 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Phuong Do ◽  
Brian Karl Finch ◽  
Ricardo Basurto-Davila ◽  
Chloe Bird ◽  
Jose Escarce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Health Disparities ◽  
Health Gap ◽  
Residential Context

Race-Based Medicine and Justice as Recognition: Exploring the Phenomenon of BiDil

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOON-HO YU ◽  
SARA GOERING ◽  
STEPHANIE M. FULLERTON
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racial Health Disparities ◽  
Biological Meaning ◽  
Based Medicine ◽  
Biological Differences

In the United States, health disparities have been framed by categories of race. Racial health disparities have been documented for cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and numerous other diseases and measures of health status. Although such disparities can be read as symptoms of disparities in healthcare access, pervasive social and economic inequities, and discrimination, some have suggested that the disparities might be due, at least in part, to biological differences based on race. Or, to be more precise, if race itself has no determined biological meaning, race may nonetheless be a proxy that collects a group of individuals who share certain physiological or genotypic features that affect health.

Treat Sexual Stigma to Heal Health Disparities: Improving Sexual Minorities’ Health Outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-213
Author(s):  
Jes L. Matsick ◽  
Britney M. Wardecker ◽  
Flora Oswald
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Sexual Stigma ◽  
Physical Health Problems

Despite recent strides toward equality in the United States, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people continue to report experiences of sexual stigma and psychological and physical health problems. This article reviews empirical evidence of sexual stigma and sexual orientation-based health disparities. The current framework proposes that sexual orientation does not cause health disparities; homophobic individuals and societies do. Social psychology, recognizing the power of the situation, suggests that changing the stigmatizing environments for LGBTQ people can effectively reduce health disparities. The science has policy implications—notably, for audiences at three levels (intraindividual, interpersonal, and institutional)—and provides recommendations for mitigating sexual stigma and improving health.

scholarly journals Mechanisms of Racial Health Disparities: Relationships between Coping and Psychological and Physiological Stress Responses

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-574
Author(s):  
Julie Ober Allen ◽  
Daphne C. Watkins ◽  
Briana Mezuk ◽  
Linda Chatters ◽  
Vicki Johnson-Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
White Men ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Physiological Dysregulation

Objective: Psychological distress and physi­ological dysregulation represent two stress response pathways linked to poor health and are implicated in racial disparities in aging-related health outcomes among US men. Less is known about how coping re­lates to these stress responses. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine whether midlife and older men’s coping strategies and behaviors accounted, in part, for Black-White disparities in men’s psycho­logical and physiological stress responses.Methods: We examined racial differences in 12 coping strategies (COPE Inventory subscales, religious/spiritual coping, and be­haviors such as stress eating and substance use) and their relationships with psycho­logical distress (Negative Affect scale) and physiological dysregulation (blunted diurnal cortisol slopes) using regression models and cross-sectional data from 696 Black and White male participants aged 35-85 years in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) II, 2004-2006.Results: Black men exhibited more psychological distress and physiological dysregulation than White men. Black and White men reported comparable use of most coping strategies, none of which demonstrated similar relationships with both stress responses. Coping strategies explained variations in psychological distress consis­tent with conventional protective-harmful categorizations. Coping accounted for racial disparities in men’s psychological distress, as Black men reported using harmful strategies more often and were more susceptible to their negative effects. Neither differential use of coping strategies nor differing rela­tionships accounted for racial disparities in physiological dysregulation.Conclusions: Findings revealed complex relationships between coping and psycho­logical and physiological stress responses and suggest the importance of differing approaches to reducing associated racial health disparities among men. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(4):563-574; doi:10.18865/ed.30.563

Increasing Incidence of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors Among Black Men in the United States

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (24) ◽  
pp. 5757-5761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A. McGlynn ◽  
Susan S. Devesa ◽  
Barry I. Graubard ◽  
Philip E. Castle
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Germ Cell ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Germ Cell Tumors ◽  
White Men ◽  
The United States ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Seer Program ◽  
Testicular Germ Cell Tumors ◽  
Testicular Germ Cell

Purpose There has been marked disparity in the incidence of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) among white and black men for a number of decades in the United States. Since at least the beginning of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program in 1973, incidence rates among white men have been five times higher than rates among black men. In addition, rates among white men have been increasing, whereas rates among black men have remained stable. However, a recent examination of ethnic-specific rates suggested that the incidence among black men may have begun to change in the 1990s. Patients and Methods TGCT incidence data from nine registries of the SEER Program were analyzed for the years 1973 to 2001. Trends were examined separately for seminoma and nonseminoma. Results Analyses found that the incidence of TGCT began to increase among black men between the 1988 to 1992 and 1993 to 1997 periods. Before that time, incidence among black men had decreased by 14.8%. Between 1988 to 1992 and 1998 to 2001, however, the incidence increased by 100%, with the incidence of seminoma increasing twice as much (124.4%) as the incidence of nonseminoma (64.3%). Over the 29-year time period, there was no evidence of a change in the proportion of tumors diagnosed at earlier stages among black men. In contrast, the proportion of tumors diagnosed at localized stages significantly increased among white men. Conclusion The incidence of TGCT among black men has increased since 1988 to 1992. Although the reasons for this increase are unclear, screening and earlier diagnosis of TGCT do not seem to be factors.

RACIAL INEQUALITIES IN CONNECTEDNESS TO IMPRISONED INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED STATES

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hedwig Lee ◽  
Tyler McCormick ◽  
Margaret T. Hicken ◽  
Christopher Wildeman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
White Men ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mass Imprisonment ◽  
The Life Course

AbstractIn just the last forty years, imprisonment has been transformed from an event experienced by only the most marginalized to a common stage in the life course of American men—especially Black men with low levels of educational attainment. Although much research considers the causes of the prison boom and how the massive uptick in imprisonment has shaped crime rates and the life course of the men who experience imprisonment, in recent years, researchers have gained a keen interest in the spillover effects of mass imprisonment on families, children, and neighborhoods. Unfortunately, although this new wave of research documents the generally harmful effects of having a family member or loved one incarcerated, it remains unclear how much the prison boom shapes social inequality through these spillover effects because we lack precise estimates of the racial inequality in connectedness—through friends, family, and neighbors—to prisoners. Using the 2006 General Social Survey, we fill this pressing research gap by providing national estimates of connectedness to prisoners—defined in this article as knowing someone who is currently imprisoned, having a family member who is currently imprisoned, having someone you trust who is currently imprisoned, or having someone you know from your neighborhood who is currently imprisoned—for Black and White men and women. Most provocatively, we show that 44% of Black women (and 32% of Black men) but only 12% of White women (and 6% of White men) have a family member imprisoned. This means that about one in four women in the United States currently has a family member in prison. Given these high rates of connectedness to prisoners and the vast racial inequality in them, it is likely that mass imprisonment has fundamentally reshaped inequality not only for the adult men for whom imprisonment has become common, but also for their friends and families.

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