Title: The 7 Deadliest Diseases For Blacks | BlackDoctor.org - Where Wellness & Culture Connect
Headings: The 7 Deadliest Diseases For Blacks
The 7 Deadliest Diseases For Blacks
Why These Disparities?
Black Americans & Lung Disease
Blacks & Heart Disease
Blacks & Diabetes
Blacks & Sickle Cell Anemia
How Are These Disparities Being Dealt With For The Future?
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Content: Genes definitely play a role. So does the environment in which people live, socioeconomic status — and, yes, racism, says Clyde W. Yancy, MD, associate dean of clinical affairs and medical director for heart failure/transplantation at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Unique Cultural Issues. Yancy says that all humans have the same physiology, are vulnerable to the same illnesses, and respond to the same medicines. Naturally, diseases and responses to treatment do vary from person to person. But, he says, there are unique issues that affect Black Americans. “We must recognize there are some arbitrary issues that are present in the way we practice medicine and dole out health care,” Yancy tells WebMD. “ It forces us to think very carefully about the very volatile issue of race and what race means. At the end of the day, it is more likely an issue of socioeconomics and political issues of bias as well as physiologic and genetic issues. Agreeing with Yancy is LeRoy M. Graham Jr., MD, a pediatric lung expert who serves on the American Lung Association’s board of directors, is associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, and serves as staff physician for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.