effects on race and health

Question 1

who has a lower life expectancy; whites or indigenous people

Answer 1

indigenous people

Question 2

what health issues put indigenous people at a disadvantage

Answer 2

life expectancy
infant mortality rate
diabetes
AIDS cases
male suicide rate: 15-24
illness due to drinking water

Question 3

what is hypertension

Answer 3

high blood pressure

Question 4

what % of death are a result of high blood pressure worldwide

Answer 4

13%

Question 5

in 1940s-50s how much more common was hypertension in black patients

Answer 5

2x more common

Question 6

what are some predictors of high blood pressure

Answer 6

salty diet
lack of exercise
too much alcohol
smoking
and african or caribbean descent

Question 7

how much more likely was preventable heart disease able to kill a black american

Answer 7

2.5x more likely

Question 8

what are some hypotheses behind why heart disease was more likely to kill a black american

Answer 8

1. hypertension as a ‘black disease’
2. intrinsic differences or socio-economic
3. causes of hypertension in black americans

Question 9

what is the slavery hypertension hypothesis

Answer 9

mortality on slave ships caused intense natural selection

Question 10

why did slaves on ships retain salt

Answer 10

to protect against disease on board ship

Question 11

is there support for hypertension as a black disease

Answer 11

no

Question 12

what continent is hypertension rare

Answer 12

africa

Question 13

where are the highest incidences of hypertension

Answer 13

Finland, Germany and Russia

Question 14

if hypertension is not about race what is it about

Answer 14

local circumstances

Question 15

is there evidence for genes of hypertension

Answer 15

no

Question 16

what is the most likely cause of hypertension

Answer 16

diet, stress and lifestyle

Question 17

what is the typical diet in finland

Answer 17

diet was high in fatty meat and salt and low in fruits & vegetables

Question 18

what diet is similar to finnish diet

Answer 18

Similar to the diet of poorer “blacks” from the US south

Question 19

what can be a cause of hypertension in black people

Answer 19

Higher stress levels due to racism

Question 20

what is sickle cell disease caused by

Answer 20

Mutation in gene coding for hemoglobin

Question 21

what is the heterozygote trait of sickle cell

Answer 21

Heterozygote (normal + 1 mutation): sickle cell trait, but no anemia – 43 million “carriers” in the world

Question 22

what is the homozygous recessive trait of sickle cell

Answer 22

Homozygous recessive (2 mutations): anemia in 4.4 million people on earth & very susceptible to malaria

Question 23

what causes a sickle-shaped red blood cell

Answer 23

Abnormal hemoglobin molecules

Question 24

what is the average life expectancy of someone with sickle cell anemia in the US

Answer 24

40-60 yrs

Question 25

why doesn't NS eliminate sickle cell

Answer 25

Because heterozygote has the highest fitness in areas where malaria was traditionally present Disease decreasing in the US because no malaria

Question 26

what is the heterozygous advantage to sickle cell

Answer 26

resistance against malaria

Question 27

how did humans adapt to malaria

Answer 27

wherever humans historically cohabited with malaria

Question 28

what ethnic group is sickle cell found in

Answer 28

Found in all ethnic groups: black, brown and white historically

Question 29

why is sickle cell seen as a black disease in the US

Answer 29

because of the demography of Europeans & Africans in the US

Question 30

what did the stereotype of sickle cel reinforce

Answer 30

Reinforced the idea of genetic differences between black and white Americans

Question 31

why is sickle cell screened only once in black infants

Answer 31

Because of costs

Question 32

how many white americans have a sickle cell trait

Answer 32

250/100,000 have the trait

Question 33

how many black americans have the sickle cell trait

Answer 33

7000/100,000 – hence the logic of the screening

Question 34

why is the statistics of sickle cell innacurate

Answer 34

there are more white than black Americans

Question 35

what are the odds of any black newborn having sickle cell

Answer 35

6.7%

Question 36

what are the odds of any child having sickle cell

Answer 36

1.5%

Question 37

what % of heterozygous sickle cell are less susceptible to malaria

Answer 37

29% less susceptible to malaria

Question 38

do all US states screen sickle cell in all infants

Answer 38

yes

Question 39

is there any support for differences in how black vs white people feel pain

Answer 39

no

Question 40

what race is systematically undertreated for pain

Answer 40

black americans

Question 41

what is the stereotypical belief behind why people think black people feel less pain than white people

Answer 41

“black people have thicker skin than white people”

Question 42

what % of medical students held the beliefs that black people felt less pain

Answer 42

1/2 white medical students

Question 43

if race does not predict disease, what does

Answer 43

where you are/were from

Question 44

what do disadvantaged people suffer from

Answer 44

suffer poorer health care outcomes

Question 45

why do disadvantaged people suffer poorer health care outcomes

Answer 45

environment, racism, socio-economics etc.