The Economic Burden of Racial, Ethnic, and Educational Health Inequities in the US.

Importance: Health inequities exist for racial and ethnic minorities and persons with lower educational attainment due to differential exposure to economic, social, structural, and environmental health risks and limited access to health care. Objective: To estimate the economic burden of health inequities for racial and ethnic minority populations (American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Latino, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander) and adults 25 years and older with less than a 4-year college degree in the US. Outcomes include the sum of excess medical care expenditures, lost labor market productivity, and the value of excess premature death (younger than 78 years) by race and ethnicity and the highest level of educational attainment compared with health equity goals. Evidence Review: Analysis of 2016-2019 data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and state-level Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and 2016-2018 mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System and 2018 IPUMS American Community Survey. There were 87 855 survey respondents to MEPS, 1 792 023 survey respondents to the BRFSS, and 8 416 203 death records from the National Vital Statistics System. Findings: In 2018, the estimated economic burden of racial and ethnic health inequities was $421 billion (using MEPS) or $451 billion (using BRFSS data) and the estimated burden of education-related health inequities was $940 billion (using MEPS) or $978 billion (using BRFSS). Most of the economic burden was attributable to the poor health of the Black population; however, the burden attributable to American Indian or Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander populations was disproportionately greater than their share of the population. Most of the education-related economic burden was incurred by adults with a high school diploma or General Educational Development equivalency credential. However, adults with less than a high school diploma accounted for a disproportionate share of the burden. Although they make up only 9% of the population, they bore 26% of the costs. Conclusions and Relevance: The economic burden of racial and ethnic and educational health inequities is unacceptably high. Federal, state, and local policy makers should continue to invest resources to develop research, policies, and practices to eliminate health inequities in the US.

Neighborhood-specific epigenome analysis: the pathway forward to understanding gene-environment interactions.

Morbidity and mortality associated with complex diseases are expected to increase as the population ages and the number of Americans living in poverty continues to expand. Therefore, improved translation of research findings into clinical practice and public health policy must become a priority. This commentary emphasizes the need for a new research model that accommodates the complex nature of disease etiology.

The legacy of Tuskegee and trust in medical care: is Tuskegee responsible for race differences in mistrust of medical care?

OBJECTIVES: To examine race differences in knowledge of the Tuskegee study and the relationship between knowledge of the Tuskegee study and medical system mistrust. METHODS: We conducted a telephone survey of 277 African-American and 101 white adults 18-93 years of age in Baltimore, MD. Participants responded to questions regarding mistrust of medical care, including a series of questions regarding the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male (Tuskegee study). RESULTS: Findings show no differences by race in knowledge of or about the Tuskegee study and that knowledge of the study was not a predictor of trust of medical care. However, we find significant race differences in medical care mistrust. CONCLUSIONS: Our results cast doubt on the proposition that the widely documented race difference in mistrust of medical care results from the Tuskegee study. Rather, race differences in mistrust likely stem from broader historical and personal experiences.

Mistrust of health care organizations is associated with underutilization of health services.

PURPOSE: We report the validation of an instrument to measure mistrust of health care organizations and examine the relationship between mistrust and health care service underutilization. METHODS: We conducted a telephone survey of a random sample of households in Baltimore City, MD. We surveyed 401 persons and followed up with 327 persons (81.5 percent) 3 weeks after the baseline interview. We conducted tests of the validity and reliability of the Medical Mistrust Index (MMI) and then conducted multivariate modeling to examine the relationship between mistrust and five measures of underutilization of health services. RESULTS: Using principle components analysis, we reduced the 17-item MMI to 7 items with a single dimension. Test-retest reliability was moderately strong, ranging from Pearson correlation of 0.346-0.697. In multivariate modeling, the MMI was predictive of four of five measures of underutilization of health services: failure to take medical advice (b=1.56, p<.01), failure to keep a follow-up appointment (b=1.11, p=.01), postponing receiving needed care (b=0.939, p=.01), and failure to fill a prescription (b=1.48, p=.002). MMI was not significantly associated with failure to get needed medical care (b=0.815, p=.06). CONCLUSIONS: The MMI is a robust predictor of underutilization of health services. Greater attention should be devoted to building greater trust among patients.