Hate harmful to health of Asian American seniors
Discrimination and violence against Asian American people can be harmful to health, particularly for older adults.
In the face of growing hate-based incidents against Asian American people in the U.S., the population’s seniors are experiencing both physical and mental health issues, according to a brief study published May 13 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Based on a March 2022 to January 2023 survey of Asian American seniors who lived in the San Francisco Bay area, the study found respondents were fearful to go outside, experienced nightmares about assault and had isolated themselves from others because of the incidents. The older adults also reported skipping health care appointments and exercise and experiencing higher blood pressure.
A November poll found that more than a third of Asian American and Pacific Islander people experienced racial abuse in the past year. Harassment, discrimination and assaults against Asian American people in the U.S. rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 11,500 incidents reported to the Stop AAPI Hate coalition from March 2020 to March 2022.
Study researchers recommended that clinicians discuss racism and hate-based incidents with their patients during regular health care visits.
Stroke deaths linked to extreme temperatures
Experiencing extremely hot or cold weather can increase the risk of dying from stroke, new research finds.
About 11 out of every 1,000 ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke deaths that occurred from 1979 to 2019 were attributable to extremely cold and hot days, according to a study published May 22 in Stroke. The findings were based on data on more than 5.8 million stroke deaths in 522 cities around the world.
The association between extreme temperatures and stroke mortality was stronger in low-income countries than in high-income ones. Poorer health care in low-income countries and better indoor temperature regulation and lower rates of outdoor work in high-income countries may account for the differences, researchers suggested.
While a greater proportion of the deaths were linked to extremely cold days, the frequency of extremely hot ones is growing in many parts of the world. Europe, in particular, experienced a record number of days with extreme heat in 2023, with related deaths increasing as much as 94%, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
As global temperatures become more extreme with climate change, stroke death disparities between high- and low-income regions could worsen, researchers predicted.
Workplace maltreatment ups injuries for health workers
Hospital workers who experience unfair treatment on the job are more likely to experience occupational injuries, new science finds.
Researchers surveyed health workers who directly cared for hospital patients, including nurses, nursing assistants and clinical nurse specialists, finding high rates of discrimination. About 21% reported being humiliated in front of others in the workplace, 28% reported they had been watched more closely than other workers, and 47% reported having to work twice as hard as others for the same treatment.
With each type of unfair treatment, the odds of a workplace injury increased, according to the study, which was published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Greater frequency of mistreatment and experiencing more kinds of the discrimination also increased injuries.
Workers reported that they had experienced injuries from sharps — such as needles, scalpels or other medical objects — and other injuries that required time off from work or a medical consult.
About 9% of the workers reported that they had an occupational injury in the year before the survey. Injury rates were higher for male workers, those who were Asian American, Pacific Islander or Black, and workers over age 50.
Workers at U.S. hospitals experience more than 221,000 occupational injuries and illnesses a year, with nurses suffering the highest rates. Across the U.S. workforce, the health care industry has the nation’s highest overall incidence of injuries and illnesses, ranking just below transportation and warehousing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Cancer deaths hit Americans unequally
Whether someone in the U.S. lives or dies after a cancer diagnosis can vary widely by race and ethnicity, a new report finds.
The nation’s history of racism, segregation and discrimination against marginalized populations has fueled inequities that influence the odds of developing and surviving cancer, according to the May 15 report from the American Association for Cancer Research.
Many people of color continue to bear a greater cancer burden. People who are Black or American Indian and Alaska Native, for example, have the highest cancer death rates of all U.S. racial or ethnic groups.
Among the report’s findings:
• Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer compared to white men. Black women have a 40% higher likelihood of dying from breast cancer than white women, even though case rates are the same.
• Deaths from stomach, liver and gallbladder cancer among American Indian and Alaska Native people are more than double those of white people. While colorectal cancer deaths among adults under age 50 rose 1.7% annually from 2009 to 2018 for white people, they rose 3.4% annually for American Indian and Alaska Native people.
• Asian and Pacific Islander people are 70% more likely to develop stomach cancer and twice as likely to die from it than white people. While breast cancer rates among white women rose 0.5 annually from 2015 to 2019, they rose 2.1% annually for Asian and Pacific Islander women.
• Hispanic people are twice as likely as white people to be diagnosed with liver cancer and 56% more likely to die from the disease. Hispanic people also have an 85% higher likelihood of being diagnosed with stomach cancer and more than double the likelihood of dying from it than white people.
The report cited unequal access to cancer screening and follow-up exams, language barriers, insurance coverage, transportation and discrimination as some of the factors contributing to the disparities.
Other recent public health news of note includes:
• High blood pressure that is resistant to treatment is more common for Black people than for white people in the U.S., says a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
• Exposure to pesticides may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease and other nervous system problems, finds a study in Environmental Health Perspectives.
• As extreme droughts become more commonplace, the U.S. monitoring system can’t keep up, hindering the nation’s emergency management, research in AGU Advances reports.
• An updated standard released May 20 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is designed to better protect workers from chemical hazards during an emergency.
• Continued coal leasing in Montana’s Powder River Basin would harm public health and should not be approved, the Bureau of Land Management said in a May 16 environmental impact statement.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.
