A weekly roundup of public health news
Women, people of color in health care earn much less than white men
Despite making up a significant percentage of the workforce, women and people of color in health care are less likely to hold higher-paying jobs, a new report from the Urban Institute finds.
Hispanic and Black people, Asian men and white women are more commonly employed in lower-paying health care occupations in the U.S., while the reverse is true for white men. Even when women and people of color are in the same occupations as white men and have similar skills, they are paid less, according to the Jan. 5 report.
The wage disparities are particularly wide between white men and Black and Hispanic women in health care. In occupations where they are more commonly employed — such as personal care, nursing, psychiatric care and home health care — Black and Hispanic women earn 67 cents for every dollar white men are paid, the report found.
Their salaries lag even in high-paying occupations where white men make up most of the workforce — such as physicians, surgeons and dentists — where Black and Hispanic women earn an average of 72 cents for every dollar white men are paid.
While wage disparities exist between women of color in health care and white women, they are not as wide as compared to disparities with white men, the researchers said.
The findings come even as research shows women make up most of the U.S. health care workforce. People of color are also overrepresented in several occupations, such as home health care and nursing assistance. About 48% of nursing home workers are people of color, according to the American Health Care Association.
Researchers said employer discrimination in hiring and compensation is the main reason for the disparities. They called for changes to hiring processes and training programs and more guidance for students to help them align college and career decision-making with industry demand.
Food preservatives tied to higher risks of cancer, Type 2 diabetes
Eating food with a lot of preservatives can raise risks for both cancer and diabetes, two new studies conclude.
A Jan. 7 study in The BMJ found that people who consumed higher amounts of certain food preservatives had a greater risk of developing cancer. A separate study published the same day in Nature Communications linked higher preservative intake to a significantly increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.
In the cancer study, researchers focused on preservative compounds commonly used in processed foods. They found that higher consumption of sorbates — particularly potassium sorbate — was associated with a 14% increased risk of overall cancer and a 26% increased risk of breast cancer. Higher intake of sulfites was also linked to a 12% increased risk of overall cancer, according to the study.
Sorbates and sulfites are widely used to extend shelf life and prevent spoilage in foods such as packaged baked goods, processed meats and beverages.
The second study, published in Nature Communications and conducted by some of the same researchers, examined links between food preservative intake and Type 2 diabetes. They found that people with the highest intake of preservative additives overall had a 47% higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared with those with the lowest intake.
While the studies did not explore the reasons for the links between food preservatives and illness, researchers suggested preservatives may trigger ongoing inflammation in the body, increase cell damage and interfere with healthy gut bacteria — changes that have been linked to both cancer and Type 2 diabetes.
Infant deaths higher among babies of US-born mothers
Babies born in the U.S. are more likely to die in their first year of life if their mother was born in America rather than immigrated there, a new study finds.
Published in JAMA Network Open, the study found infants born to U.S.-born mothers died at a rate of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 births, compared with 4 deaths per 1,000 births among those born to immigrant mothers.
The disparity was especially notable for full-term births. Full-term babies are generally considered to be at lower risk of dying than babies born early, yet infants born at full term to U.S.-born mothers were more likely to die than full-term infants born to immigrant mothers, the study found.
The overall gap in deaths was seen for Black, white, Asian and Hispanic infants. But among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander babies, infant deaths were more common when mothers were born outside the U.S., the study found.
Babies born to U.S.-native mothers were more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, compared with babies born to immigrant mothers. SIDS is a leading cause of infant death and most often occurs during sleep.
The authors said the findings reflect a pattern often seen in other health research, in which immigrants experience better health outcomes than people born in the U.S., even though immigrants may face economic hardship or barriers to health care.
As many as 21,000 babies die in their first year of life annually in the U.S, translating to about 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. Leading causes include birth defects, preterm birth and low birth weight.
Other recent public health news of note includes:
• Microplastics can worsen intestinal inflammation, new research in Microplastics and Nanoplastics reports. Researchers found that ingesting pieces of polystyrene — a type of plastic used in food packaging such as yogurt cups and meat trays — can disrupt natural bacteria in the gut. The reactions may play a role in the increase in cases of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, researchers suggested.
• A new study finds violence-related hospital visits go up as temperatures rise. Published in Communications Sustainability, the research found a 5 degree Celsius increase in temperature was associated with a nearly 4% increase in hospital visits for self-inflicted violence and a 1.5% increase in visits related to interpersonal violence. Stronger associations were found for younger people and those from poorer neighborhoods, which researchers noted are more likely to lack adequate air conditioning.
• People with chronic conditions are more likely to pay out of pocket for preventive services, despite federal rules requiring coverage with no cost-sharing, a new study finds. Published Jan. 8 in JAMA Network Open, the study examined data on more than 1 million privately insured U.S. patients, finding people with chronic diseases had a 19% higher likelihood of being subject to cost-sharing, such as co-pays, deductibles or coinsurance.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.