health disparities

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May 1, 2024

Poverty tops smoking as a major death risk: study

A Vanderbilt study found that Black and white people who earned less than $15,000 a year died, on average, more than 10 years earlier than those whose annual income exceeded $50,000.

By Bill Snyder
Discovery Lecturer Vanessa Northington Gamble, MD, PhD, is an internationally known advocate for equity and justice in medicine and public health. (photo by Susan Urmy)
April 26, 2024

Discovery lecturer examines race and racism in health care

At her recent Discovery Lecture, Vanessa Northington Gamble, MD, PhD, described the deeply flawed yet lingering concept in American medicine that ascribes racial disparities in health status to inherent biological differences, rather than to environmental and sociological factors.

By Bill Snyder
December 18, 2023

Study examines social factors and cardiovascular disease risk

Eight social factors were among the top 15 markers of cardiovascular disease risk and could help guide community prevention efforts, according to a new study using machine learning algorithms.

By Paul Govern
October 19, 2023

VUMC initiative to address social drivers of health

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a federal grant to incorporate social drivers of health into adult primary care with the aim of improving outcomes for patients with multiple chronic conditions.

By Bill Snyder
October 5, 2023

Kidney disease gene also has a protective mutation

African Americans have long been known to be at increased risk of kidney disease due to a dangerous genetic mutation that creates a hole in the kidney cells, but Vanderbilt researchers have now discovered a protective genetic mutation that covers the hole to eliminate the risk.

By Craig Boerner
A multidisciplinary team is studying ways to mitigate nursing staff shortages and improve care for underserved groups following hospital discharge. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
August 15, 2023

VUMC receives state grant to evaluate innovative models of nursing care that include screening and responding to social drivers of health

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a to evaluate innovative models of nursing care that include screening and responding to social drivers of health to better meet the needs of all VUMC patients.

By Matt Batcheldor
July 26, 2023

International workgroup of geneticists issues CHEK2 guidelines

International workgroup issues additional guidance on how to manage patients who carry inherited CHEK2 gene mutations that put them at a higher risk for cancer.
By Tom Wilemon
June 14, 2023

Symposium offers new ways to overcome health disparities

Ideas for addressing the disproportionate impact of cancer, diabetes, and gastrointestinal diseases on disadvantaged populations were shared recently during a diversity symposium at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
By Bill Snyder
April 6, 2023

COVID-19’s lingering impact on health

A decline in cardiovascular fitness — measured by activity trackers in the All of Us research program — persisted among some groups even after COVID-related restrictions were relaxed, exacerbating health disparities.
By Bill Snyder
February 16, 2023

Wilkins appointed to National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee for Unequal Treatment Revisited

Vanderbilt's Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI, has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) committee for Unequal Treatment Revisited.
By Danny Bonvissuto
January 13, 2023

Federally funded studies into treatment for chronic conditions overlook efficacy in adults with autism, analysis finds

Physical health disparity conditions in autistic adults have not been the focus of any research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the last four decades, an analysis of a federal database found.
By Holly Fletcher
December 8, 2022

Researchers develop framework for multiancestry genomic studies

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a framework for the analysis of multiancestry, large-scale genomic studies across multiple biobanks.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 3, 2022

Minority patients less likely to have amyloid plaques necessary for Alzheimer’s treatments

Fewer Black, Hispanic and Asian patients meet biomarker qualifications for landmark treatments that may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by targeting amyloid plaques, according to new findings published in JAMA Neurology.
By Holly Fletcher
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