(Image courtesy Black Health Matters) By Black Health Matters Doctors and health experts have no way of predicting what will happen this fall when COVID-19 and the flu circulate in the US at the same time. But they have an urgent message: Get a flu shot. Even if you’ve never gotten the vaccination before, experts […]
Author Archives: Black Health Matters
Posted inAfro Briefs
Inequality Kills
(Image courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) By BlackHealthMatters.com In the United States, life expectancy at birth, a common way to measure a country’s health, rose steadily for decades—it was 69.9 years for a baby born in 1959 and 79.1 years for one born in 2014. Then it dropped for three consecutive years. That did not surprise Stephen Bezruchka, […]
Posted inNEWS
Talking to Kids About Racial Bias
(Image courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) By Black Health Matters Children are always watching and listening, but since protests for racial justice have spread across the globe, they’re witnessing, absorbing and internalizing possibly more than anyone knows. A recent statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics says pediatricians are “deeply concerned about the effects of racism on children. […]
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COVID-19 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children
(Image Courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) By Black Health Matters Though children of all ages can become sick with coronavirus disease 2019, most kids who are infected typically don’t become as sick as adults do. Some children who have an active infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 might not show any signs or symptoms at all. Still, […]
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We Need More Gene Sequencing in Minority Children
(Image courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) First, 9-year-old Nashawn was complaining of heavy arms when swimming at his local recreation center. Soon after that, he had to take breaks walking from his room to the bathroom to take a shower. Antoinette Howard, Nashawn’s mom, made an appointment with his primary care provider at Briarwood. After a quick evaluation, […]
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10 Things You Should Do More Often
(By Dragon Images_Shutterstock) By Black Health Matters If you’re like us, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to do all the things you’ve been planning to do. But there are some things you just can’t afford to skip. Make the time to do these ten things and you’ll be ten steps […]
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Black Aging Matters, Too
(By Rob Marmion_Shutterstock) By Black Health Matters People who fit this description are more likely to die from COVID-19 than any other group in the country. They are perishing quietly, out of sight, in homes and apartment buildings, senior housing complexes, nursing homes and hospitals, disproportionately poor, frail and ill, after enduring a lifetime of […]
Posted inCoronavirus
Focus on Resilience
(Image courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) By BlackHealthMatters.com There’s no resilience gene to help us deal with adversity. Experts say it’s a skill to foster, a muscle to pump up. Six months into the twin calamities of a pandemic and a tough economy, this may be a good time for a resilience workout. Resilience is the ability to […]
Posted inNEWS
Did You Know: Black Women Not Represented in Breast Cancer Clinical Trials
(Image courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) By BlackHealthMatters.com African Americans are significantly underrepresented in clinical research in the United States. Because of this underrepresentation, we don’t know if many of today’s medicines are equally safe and effective for us. African Americans represent 13.4 percent of the population, yet the FDA reports that only 5 percent have participated in […]
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Racism Linked to Cognitive Decline in Black Women
(Image courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) Via BlackHealthMatters.com African Americans have higher rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease than White Americans. Chronic stress, associated with cognitive impairment and reduced volume in the brain’s memory area, could be a culprit. But racism may be one of the ultimate causes. And for African American women, the problem may be particularly […]
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How Do We Handle the Rise in Suicides?
(Image courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) Via BlackHealthMatters.com The facts are jarring: Suicides have jumped over the last two decades. The reasons, experts say, are multifactoral. “Certain indicators impact individuals and the rise of suicide—the opioid epidemic; the great recession, which greatly impacted the jobs market and how people connect their identity through a job; chronic illness; diagnosed […]
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Understanding Disparities in Uterine Fibroids
(Image courtesy BlackHealthMatters.com) By BlackHealthMatters.com Growing up, Erica Marsh remembers visiting aunties in the hospital and taking food to her mom’s friends who were recovering from surgery. They all suffered from the same condition: uterine fibroids. “I didn’t really know what fibroids were except that they seemed to impact many of the women in my […]