U.S. Latinos are 1.5 times more likely than whites to develop Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, the number of Latinos with Alzheimer’s and dementia could increase six-fold, from 200,000 today to 1.3 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. We need to raise awareness. We also need advocacy for solutions. Fortunately, our Salud America! #SaludTues Tweetchats, a discussion series on Twitter about Latino health, helped raise awareness of and advocacy action around Alzheimer's and its rise among Latinos, according to our new study in the Journal of Health Communication. The study found that #SaludTues Tweetchats provided a unique forum for sharing facts, increasing exposure, and discussing solutions to Alzheimer's among Latinos. "The study proves that ...
Many studies are uncovering an alarming link between COVID-19 and dementia. One study found that more than 80% of 509 hospitalized COVID-19 patients had "neurologic manifestations," according to Northwestern Medicine. The brain inflammation and mini-strokes observed in COVID-19 patients may increase their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia, another study found. Now a new study from the UK found that people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the previous six months were more likely to develop depression, dementia, psychosis and stroke. "The study confirms the researchers suspicions that a COVID-19 diagnosis is not just related to respiratory symptoms, it is also related to psychiatric and neurological problems", Prof Dame Til Wykes, at the Institute of ...
Prostate cancer has a big impact on the Latino community. One reason is that Latinos face a lack of easy-to-understand, culturally competent information — which leads to poor outcomes for those experiencing prostate cancer, according to a recent study published in BMC Public Health. “Black and Latino focus groups revealed the existence of cultural beliefs, misunderstandings and fears pertaining to [prostate cancer] which could influence health-related behaviors,” according to the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and MD Anderson Cancer Center. “Some themes were common across groups; others suggested racial and gender predilections. Future targeted efforts focused on directly addressing prevalent misperceptions among underserved communities in urban settings ...
Cancer affects different people differently. For Latinos, the cancer survivorship journey is shaped by cultural and spiritual beliefs. Latinos also face struggles with barriers to care, screening, clinical trial participation, and patient-doctor communication. This is the focus of a new Spanish-language Facebook Live event, “Supervivencia: Viviendo a través y más allá del cáncer," set for 6-7:30 p.m. CST Monday, May 19, 2021. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) South Texas Chapter is sponsoring the event. Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio will host the event on its Facebook page. Register here for the Facebook Live event. The event will feature: Dr. José Cruz, MD, is a hematology and oncology expert with the Methodist Healthcare's Adult Blood and Marrow ...
In clinical trials, researchers test life-saving treatments and find ways to prevent and manage disease. But Latinos don't often participate in research. They account for less than 10% of people in federal cancer clinical trials. This makes it hard for researchers to create treatments that work best for Latinos. This is the focus of a new webinar, “Addressing Clinical Trial Enrollment Barriers in Unique Populations,” set for 1 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The event is sponsored by Fight Colorectal Cancer. Register for the webinar. Panelists are: Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPh, is Director of the Salud America! program and its new project to engage more Latinos in cancer and Alzheimer's research (supported by a grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group), ...
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has announced a new initiative to address structural racism – the UNITE Initiative. “With representation from across the NIH Institutes and Centers, UNITE aims to establish an equitable and civil culture within the biomedical research enterprise and reduce barriers to racial equity in the biomedical research workforce,” according to the NIH website. NIH hopes that this initiative will help address racism and discrimination that has impacted healthcare throughout history. “Historical racism has led to the marginalization and oppression of Indigenous peoples, African Americans, Latinos, and other communities of color. … Structural racism has resulted in persistent health disparities, poor health status, and premature mortality as ...
Historically and presently, Latinos are underrepresented in clinical research. Researchers want to increase diverse participation in clinical trials to ensure that Latinos and other underrepresented populations benefit from advances in public health and medicine, including personalized medicine. This is especially important amid a harmful pandemic that is disproportionately impacting Latinos. In hopes of increasing awareness among Latinos and people burdened by COVID-19, the National Health Institute's (NIH) Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities Program created a new series of bilingual videos on clinical trials about vaccines and clinical trials to prevent and treat COVID-19. "[Our] program focuses on addressing misinformation around COVID-19, ...
Did you know that, every 65 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s disease? This number is most troubling for Latinos and women. Two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women. Latinas are at higher risk than non-Latinas, and Latinos overall are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than their White peers. Alzheimer's and other dementia impact more than the affected individual. 1 in every 3 U.S. Latino households has at least one family caregiver. These Latino caregivers—mainly women in their 40s—often juggle multiple jobs or leave the workforce entirely to enter the respectable, but high-stress, role of taking care of aging family members. Now COVID-19 is impacting both those with Alzheimer's and caregivers. This is the focus of Caring for the Caregiver at ...
A new study led by researchers at Case Western Reserve University found that people with dementia are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. People with dementia were also more likely to be hospitalized and die from COVID-19 than those without dementia. The study is one of the largest studies on COVID-19 and dementia, examining millions of medical records in the U.S. to draw conclusions. Researchers found that people of color with dementia were more likely to contract COVID-19 than white people with dementia, likely due to the disproportionate burden that communities of color have faced throughout the pandemic. However, the study mostly analyzed Black people with dementia compared to white people, highlighting the need to increase Latino participation in dementia ...
