Sickle Cell Anemia: This is more common in individuals of African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Indian descent. The condition is caused by an inherited defect in hemoglobin, which affects red blood cells and can cause pain and other serious complications.
Cystic Fibrosis: This genetic disorder is more common in people of European descent, especially those with Northern or Central European ancestry. It affects the lungs, digestive system, and other organs.
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure): Hypertension is more prevalent in Black Americans than in other racial groups. The reasons for this are multifactorial, including genetics, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors. African Americans are also at higher risk for complications from hypertension, such as stroke and kidney disease.
Type 2 Diabetes: This is more common in Native American, Hispanic, and African American populations. Genetic factors play a role, along with lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity levels.
Lactose Intolerance: People of East Asian, West African, Native American, and Mediterranean descent are more likely to be lactose intolerant, meaning they have difficulty digesting lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. This is due to lower levels of lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose.
Breast Cancer: While breast cancer affects women of all races, African American women are more likely to develop certain aggressive forms of breast cancer, such as triple-negative breast cancer, which tends to have a poorer prognosis. On the other hand, white women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at an earlier age.
Prostate Cancer: Prostate cancer is more common in Black men, who are also more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and experience more aggressive forms of the disease.
Asthma: Asthma is more prevalent among Black and Hispanic children in the United States. Environmental factors, such as exposure to air pollution, and socioeconomic factors, like access to healthcare, contribute to these disparities.
Skin Cancer (Melanoma): While melanoma is more common in people with lighter skin, such as those of European descent, it tends to be diagnosed at a later stage in people with darker skin, such as Black and Hispanic individuals, due to lower awareness and delayed diagnosis.
Thalassemia: A blood disorder more common in individuals of Mediterranean, African, or Southeast Asian descent. It involves the body making an abnormal form of hemoglobin, leading to anemia.
Tay-Sachs Disease: This genetic disorder, which leads to the progressive destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, is more common in Ashkenazi Jewish individuals but also affects people of French-Canadian, Cajun, or certain Eastern European origins.
How dare you come in here with your facts. These people need to be angry about scientific racism!
Next you’re gonna tell me that because I have blue eyes that I am much more sensitive to bright lights than someone with darker colored eyes. You’re just eye racist!
… I never said that? I said blue eyes are more light sensitive than darker eyes. This is verifiably true.
Everyone should have polarized sun glasses, but the level of discomfort someone with blue eyes and someone with brown eyes will have while dealing with the same sunny conditions will be quite different. I have very light blue eyes. Some have called them “icey”. I cannot deal with pretty much any sunlight and I can also have reflections trigger horrible migraines. It’s well documented that lighter colored eyes tend to struggle more often with brightness levels. Kinda like how putting some dark paint on your upper cheeks helps significantly while working outside as it cuts down on the light being bounced into your own eyes by your cheeks.
The problem is that RFK is essentially saying that, not that you said it. Genetic differences shouldn’t be used as a “reason” to deny people proper medical care.
Your example of blue eyes not being scientific racism came across as defending RFK’s stance, so my apologies if I misread. I am against denying care to anybody for any reason.
I’ll just clarify my stance I guess. I think it’s important to consider how someone’s race or genetics can alter their medical needs or risks, but I don’t think those genetics should be used to deny medical care. I do think it should be taken into consideration by their doctor though. Just like families have predisposed medical conditions some people are going to have a higher likelihood of certain things due to their race or ethnicity and it’s important that doctors take those things into consideration. Kinda like how we shouldn’t be using the same exact medical standards for both men and women. They have differences and they need to be considered at all points during care.
I generally agree then. Personally, I feel like we should focus more on individualized care needs and not so much on demographics, since differences between individuals are far greater than differences between demographics. Good doctors already allow personal needs to override any demographic-based assumptions, but it’s still unfortunately common to find bias in medicine.
There are genetic diseases more common in each (previously isolated) population. It’s a fact which can be used to target screenings in a way that minimizes residual risks.
Many things in the list are different for socioeconomic reasons as well as genetic reasons. That doesn’t mean the genetic differences don’t exist or that scientific racism is behind them.
Racism is when you treat individuals not according to their own characteristics, but the characteristics (correctly assessed or not) attributed to their race. But public health efforts are not about individuals and often need to use racial background to help provide the care most likely to succeed.
Personal genomics will help us move to more individualized medicine, but it’s not ready or affordable enough to apply to every case at the moment.
Sickle Cell Anemia: This is more common in individuals of African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Indian descent. The condition is caused by an inherited defect in hemoglobin, which affects red blood cells and can cause pain and other serious complications.
Cystic Fibrosis: This genetic disorder is more common in people of European descent, especially those with Northern or Central European ancestry. It affects the lungs, digestive system, and other organs.
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure): Hypertension is more prevalent in Black Americans than in other racial groups. The reasons for this are multifactorial, including genetics, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors. African Americans are also at higher risk for complications from hypertension, such as stroke and kidney disease.
Type 2 Diabetes: This is more common in Native American, Hispanic, and African American populations. Genetic factors play a role, along with lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity levels.
Lactose Intolerance: People of East Asian, West African, Native American, and Mediterranean descent are more likely to be lactose intolerant, meaning they have difficulty digesting lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. This is due to lower levels of lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose.
Breast Cancer: While breast cancer affects women of all races, African American women are more likely to develop certain aggressive forms of breast cancer, such as triple-negative breast cancer, which tends to have a poorer prognosis. On the other hand, white women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at an earlier age.
Prostate Cancer: Prostate cancer is more common in Black men, who are also more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and experience more aggressive forms of the disease.
Asthma: Asthma is more prevalent among Black and Hispanic children in the United States. Environmental factors, such as exposure to air pollution, and socioeconomic factors, like access to healthcare, contribute to these disparities.
Skin Cancer (Melanoma): While melanoma is more common in people with lighter skin, such as those of European descent, it tends to be diagnosed at a later stage in people with darker skin, such as Black and Hispanic individuals, due to lower awareness and delayed diagnosis.
Thalassemia: A blood disorder more common in individuals of Mediterranean, African, or Southeast Asian descent. It involves the body making an abnormal form of hemoglobin, leading to anemia.
Tay-Sachs Disease: This genetic disorder, which leads to the progressive destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, is more common in Ashkenazi Jewish individuals but also affects people of French-Canadian, Cajun, or certain Eastern European origins.
How dare you come in here with your facts. These people need to be angry about scientific racism!
Next you’re gonna tell me that because I have blue eyes that I am much more sensitive to bright lights than someone with darker colored eyes. You’re just eye racist!
Nah, the problem is extrapolating that into “dark eyes don’t need sunglasses”.
… I never said that? I said blue eyes are more light sensitive than darker eyes. This is verifiably true.
Everyone should have polarized sun glasses, but the level of discomfort someone with blue eyes and someone with brown eyes will have while dealing with the same sunny conditions will be quite different. I have very light blue eyes. Some have called them “icey”. I cannot deal with pretty much any sunlight and I can also have reflections trigger horrible migraines. It’s well documented that lighter colored eyes tend to struggle more often with brightness levels. Kinda like how putting some dark paint on your upper cheeks helps significantly while working outside as it cuts down on the light being bounced into your own eyes by your cheeks.
The problem is that RFK is essentially saying that, not that you said it. Genetic differences shouldn’t be used as a “reason” to deny people proper medical care.
…and you think generic differences should be a reason to deny people proper medical care?
Am I misunderstanding your comment? I have a bit of a headache right now and I feel like I am reading your comment wrong. Please clarify.
Your example of blue eyes not being scientific racism came across as defending RFK’s stance, so my apologies if I misread. I am against denying care to anybody for any reason.
Boy now I feel all turned around.
I’ll just clarify my stance I guess. I think it’s important to consider how someone’s race or genetics can alter their medical needs or risks, but I don’t think those genetics should be used to deny medical care. I do think it should be taken into consideration by their doctor though. Just like families have predisposed medical conditions some people are going to have a higher likelihood of certain things due to their race or ethnicity and it’s important that doctors take those things into consideration. Kinda like how we shouldn’t be using the same exact medical standards for both men and women. They have differences and they need to be considered at all points during care.
I generally agree then. Personally, I feel like we should focus more on individualized care needs and not so much on demographics, since differences between individuals are far greater than differences between demographics. Good doctors already allow personal needs to override any demographic-based assumptions, but it’s still unfortunately common to find bias in medicine.
Where are the facts about Caucasian propensities for disease and genetic issues in the list? Partial points for the light skin point.
Incomplete facts. Science huh.
Anything to justify it.
Cystic Fibrosis was listed.
There are genetic diseases more common in each (previously isolated) population. It’s a fact which can be used to target screenings in a way that minimizes residual risks.
Many things in the list are different for socioeconomic reasons as well as genetic reasons. That doesn’t mean the genetic differences don’t exist or that scientific racism is behind them.
Racism is when you treat individuals not according to their own characteristics, but the characteristics (correctly assessed or not) attributed to their race. But public health efforts are not about individuals and often need to use racial background to help provide the care most likely to succeed.
Personal genomics will help us move to more individualized medicine, but it’s not ready or affordable enough to apply to every case at the moment.