Health of the black immigrant population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

The black population has had a distinct impact on incidence and lethality during the COVID-19 pandemic. On immigrants, there are gaps in their health reality, few countries identify the nationality of the infected population or those who died because of COVID-19 in the notification forms. The aim of this research is to identify the health situation of black immigrants in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. The method chosen was a scoping review, with the formulation of a research question that sought information about the health situation of black immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Primarily 807 documents were founded, among them, there were petitions, books, manuals, reports, editorials, letters to the editor, and articles. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, as well as removing repeated files, 13 materials remained to compose the final sample of this review, including articles, letters to the editor, editorial, and commentary. The data point to silence from the academic community and a lack of in-depth debates on how structural racism is decisive in the health of the black population, as well as material that discussed the health of the immigrant population in general.

Anti-Black Racism in Latin America

This article address the racialization phenomenon of the African population and their descendants, born in America from a socio-historical perspective; including: their kidnapping, transfer and slavery in the American continent during the colonial period. Also the article address the construction of imaginaries and narratives that allowed their exploitation, favored rejection and resistance to the abolition of slavery, and excluded the black population from the process of construction of the emerging Latin American Nation-States. The research investigates the role of Latin American blacks in the independence processes and problematizes the phenomenon of structural racism from a critical sociological perspective, as a factor for the physical and symbolic annihilation of the black and Afro-descendant population in the past and in Latin America today.

Geospatial Distributions of Lead Levels Found in Human Hair and Preterm Birth in San Francisco Neighborhoods

In San Francisco (SF), many environmental factors drive the unequal burden of preterm birth outcomes for communities of color. Here, we examine the association between human exposure to lead (Pb) and preterm birth (PTB) in 19 racially diverse SF zip codes. Pb concentrations were measured in 109 hair samples donated by 72 salons and barbershops in 2018–2019. Multi-method data collection included randomly selecting hair salons stratified by zip code, administering demographic surveys, and measuring Pb in hair samples as a biomarker of environmental exposure to heavy metals. Concentrations of Pb were measured by atomic emission spectrometry. Aggregate neighborhood Pb levels were linked to PTB and demographic data using STATA 16 SE (StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX, USA). Pb varied by zip code (p < 0.001) and correlated with PTB (p < 0.01). Increases in unadjusted Pb concentration predicted an increase in PTB (β = 0.003; p < 0.001) and after adjusting for poverty (β = 0.002; p < 0.001). Confidence intervals contained the null after further adjustment for African American/Black population density (p = 0.16), suggesting that race is more indicative of high rates of PTB than poverty. In conclusion, Pb was found in every hair sample collected from SF neighborhoods. The highest concentrations were found in predominately African American/Black and high poverty neighborhoods, necessitating public health guidelines to eliminate this environmental injustice.

Partisan Strategy and the Adoption of Same-Day Registration in the American States

This study seeks to explain state adoptions of same-day registration (SDR), with a focus on determining whether the Democratic (Republican) Party’s support of (resistance to) this impactful voting reform is driven by strategic electoral considerations. I find that states have an increased probability of enacting the reform when legislative Democrats are in the precarious position that comes with having just experienced minority status in one or both chambers. Relatedly, I demonstrate that the presence of a Republican legislature does not make adoption less likely until the size of the Black population reaches a certain threshold. In fact, provided the Black population is small enough, Republican control of the legislature encourages reform. The results offer conflicting evidence, however, that large Latino populations deter the GOP from establishing SDR. Considered together, the results cast doubt on the claim that either party’s position is informed by principle alone.

Analysis of the racial profile of women with COVID-19: a cross-sectional study about evolution to death of black women in the southeast region of Brazil

Introduction: The first coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case in Brazil was registered in December 2019. Since then, an important social situation has been highlighted. Black women correspond to the highest death rate, by group, in the Southeast even not occupying the highest percentage of diagnosis. This scenario was also experienced in other places around the world. Therefore, some questions must be highlighted, such as social and economic vulnerability of black population in brazilian territory, less access to health service and testing for Covid-19. Objective: This study analyzed the clinical picture and evolution - cure or death-of black women with COVID-19 in the Southeast region. In addition, consolidating knowledge about the factors that precede death in black women and comparing them with other race groups. Methods: Cross-sectional study with data from the Ministry of Health's Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) from March to November 23, 2020, with a total number of women classified as level 5, with SARS caused by the virus SARS-Cov-2, equal to 33,991, being 21,551 white and 12,063 black. Results and Conclusion: Therefore, black women present themselves as a vulnerable group in relation to COVID-19. This group was less present in the ICU, but both groups, white and black women, had dyspnea as an aggravating factor. Considering those facts, it's possible that black women had less access, this would explain a greater number of deaths among this group compared to white women, which could signify a failure in the health care of this population. When analyzing deaths by age group, it is evident that white women followed the literature pattern - severe forms occur in patients over 65 years of age with comorbidities, while there was a rejuvenation of deaths among black women. It is a limitation of our study not to include comorbidities in the analysis. This situation becomes relevant for directing public policies that aim to reverse the factors associated with this situation. More studies are needed to elucidate the socioeconomic issues that support this outcome, seeking to reduce the number of deaths from COVID-19 in black women.

COVID-19 Disparities and Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Americans: What Ethical Lessons Can Be Learned?

Objective This state of the art review focuses on bioethical questions and considerations from research findings and methodological issues, including design and recruitment of participants, in studies related to COVID-19 vaccine hesitation in Black individuals. Ethical concerns identified were applied to otolaryngology with recommendations for improving health inequities within subspecialties. Data Sources An internet search through PubMed, CINAHL, and socINDEX was conducted to identify articles on COVID-19 vaccine hesitation among the Black population between 2020 and 2021. Review Methods A systematic review approach was taken to search and analyze the research on this topic, which was coupled with expert analysis in identifying and classifying vital ethical considerations. Conclusions The most common COVID-19 vaccine hesitation factors were related to the development of the vaccine, mistrust toward government agencies, and misconceptions about safety and side effects. These findings raised bioethical concerns around mistrust of information, low health literacy, insufficient numbers of Black participants in medical research, and the unique positions of health professionals as trusted sources. These bioethical considerations can be applied in otolaryngology and other health-related areas to aid the public in making informed medical decisions regarding treatments, which may reduce health inequalities among Black Americans and other racial and ethnic minority groups. Implications for Practice Addressing ethical questions by decreasing mistrust, tailoring information for specific populations, increasing minority representation in research, and using health professionals as primary sources for communicating health information and recommendations may improve relationships with Black communities and increase acceptance of new knowledge and therapies such as COVID-19 vaccination.

Analysis of COVID-19 Case Demographics in Gary, Indiana

Background and Hypothesis It has been reported in several recent studies that health disparities associated with COVID-19 infection r are prevalent in Black and impoverished populations. The contribution of multiple causes to these disparities is still not completely elucidated. Gary, Indiana has a large Black population (80%), high number of residents living below the poverty line (34%), and high unemployment rate (20%). We hypothesized that Black individuals in Gary have a higher rate of positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths than non-Black individuals. Also, we hypothesized that (median household income measured by the zip code) is negatively correlated with COVID-19 positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Methods In collaboration with the Gary Health Department, we analyzed data on all positive cases in the city from 06/16/2020 through 06/07/2021(totally 5149 cases). We compared this data to the data from 03/16/2020 through 06/16/2020 (totally 724 cases) that we analyzed previously. Data was de-identified and included age, race, ethnicity, and zip code. The data was analyzed using Pearson's chi-square test and regression analysis. Results When compared to the non-Black population in Gary age and population-adjusted rates of hospitalizations and deaths in the Black population are 3-fold (p<9.385E-11) and 2-fold (p<0.0171) higher, respectively. Surprisingly, the non-Black population had a higher infection rate than the Black population (p<2.69E-09). Median household income of a zip code is negatively correlated with COVID-19 hospitalizations in that zip code (R2=0.6345, p=0.03), but is does not affect the .rates of infections and deaths. Conclusion Our data show that in Gary, there is a clear health disparity of both income and race, specifically in the context of COVID-19. IUSMNW and Gary health officials can collaborate and utilize this data to reallocate resources to the highly populated, low income, and predominantly Black neighborhoods.

Causes of the Racial Disparities in the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

The risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is not uniform across race-specific subpopulations: Blacks face approximately 50% higher risk of AD onset compared to Whites(Hazard Ratio=1.50; 95%CI:1.46-1.54). We used Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, modified for censored data, to explain the disparities in the risk of AD between these races in Medicare beneficiaries aged 65+. This approach measures the contributions to the total difference in AD risks from the differences in the prevalence and the difference in magnitude of the effects of each potential explanatory variable. We used hypertension, diabetes mellitus, depression, cerebrovascular and renal diseases as the potential causes of the racial disparities in AD risk. We found that the greatest contribution was due to the impact of arterial hypertension, of which 24% of the effect was due to differences in prevalence and 76% due to the differences in effect magnitude. Unexpectedly, the contributions of other studied diseases explained only a small part of the racial disparity in AD risk. The remaining incidence rates, which could not be explained by the contributions of hypertension and other included diseases in the age-specific analysis, were lower for the Black population, although initially, the total age-specific incidence rates of AD were higher for the Blacks when compared to the Whites. Therefore, our results suggest that targeted interventions in the Black subpopulation are urgently needed to mitigate the adverse health effects of hypertension, independent of the possible causes, such as access to hypertension care, or race-related differences in adherence to antihypertensive treatment.

The relationship between ethnicity and stone composition in a large multi-ethnic London NHS Trust

Purpose Few studies have examined kidney stone composition of an ethnically diverse group living in the same location, we aimed to study this in an ethnically diverse NHS trust. Methods We reviewed all patients (n=312) with laboratory stone analysis and compared their ethnicity with their stone composition. Results Using a Chi Squared analysis there was no significant difference between stone composition in different ethnic groups (p=0.07). Uric acid stones were more common in the White-other group at 22.0% compared to 10.3% for White British, 5.2% for Asian and 9.52% for Black patients. Calcium oxalate stone were more common in the Asian population with 71.9% and Black population at 76.1%, compared with 56.7% in the White British population and 52.6% in the White-other population. Calcium phosphate stones were found commonly in the White British population (26.8%) compared to 18.6% for White-other, 16.7% for Asian and 9.5% for Black patients. Cystine and Struvite stones were found at low levels of between 0-3.4% in each group. Repeat stone formers with calcium oxalate, uric acid or cystine stones formed the same stone again 100.0% of the time. The odds for the Black population having a stone analysed (OR 0.62, CI 0.39-0.97, p=0.04) was significantly lower than the local population, and for the Asian population this was significantly higher (OR 1.31, CI1.05-1.62, p=0.01), Conclusion Uric acid stones are found more frequently in the White-other population and calcium oxalate stones are found more frequently in the Asian and black population. However, these results were not statistically significant. The odds ratio of having a stone was significantly higher in the Asian population and lower in the Black population.