Study Finds Air Pollution Linked to Increased Incidence of Diabetes and Hypertension in African American Women
The incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension increases with cumulative levels of exposure to nitrogen oxides, according to a new study led by researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC) at Boston University. The study, which appears online in the journal Circulation, was led by Patricia Coogan, D.Sc., associate professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health and the SEC.
Researchers assessed the risks of incident hypertension and diabetes associated with exposure to nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM2.5) in a cohort of approximately 4,000 African American women living in Los Angeles. NOx are indicators of traffic-related air pollution. From 1995-2005, 531 incident cases of hypertension and 183 incident cases of diabetes occurred among the participants in the Los Angeles area. The risk of diabetes increased by a significant 24 percent, and the risk of hypertension by 11 percent, for each 12 ppb increase in exposure to NOx.
Read more at Boston University Medical Campus | Blog Archive | Boston University.
Study finds experiences of racism associated with weight gain in African American women
A recent analysis conducted by investigators from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University has found that frequent experiences of racism were associated with a higher risk of obesity among African American women. The findings, which currently appear online in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found the relationship between racism and obesity was strongest among women who reported consistently high experiences of racism over a 12-year period. The research was based on data from the Black Women’s Health Study, a longitudinal study that enrolled 59,000 African-American women in 1995 and has followed them continually.
ABWW Heroine of the Day: Dr. Alexa I. Canady
Dr. Alexa Canady & her young patient.
Conservatives may think that Ben Carson is some kind of anomaly but black doctors save lives every day. Dr. Alexa Canady was the first black female neurosurgeon and works to expand the opportunities for women of color in her field for over 25 years.
Dr. Alexa Canady was born on November 7, 1950, in Lansing, Michigan. While she was in college, a summer program inspired her to pursue a medical career. Canady specialized as a pediatric neurosurgeon and served as chief of neurosurgery at the Children’s Hospital in Michigan in from 1987 to 2001.
Read more at Alexa Canady: Biography.com.
Read more at Changing the Face of Medicine| Dr. Alex Irene Canady
Angry Black Woman Watch 