Racial factors

Afro-Americans were over-represented among the lower economic levels could mean that this susceptibility to mental disorders was due to stressors related to poverty and not to the presence of a vulnerability that could be attributed to ethnic or racial factors (Williams, 1986). 

Foreign clinical results are acceptable except in areas where there are immunological and ethnic differences between Japanese and foreigners. The ethnic factors are divided into two components intrinsic factors such as racial factors and physiological differences and extrinsic factors, which include cultural and environmental issues. In these cases, the MHLW may require that some bridging comparative clinical trials be performed with dose ranging protocols. This will enable absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion studies to be carried out on Japanese individuals and provide better dosage and indication for the Japanese people. The MHLW also requires that application be accompanied by one year of real-time stability data and that sterility test results be included. 

Yamamoto J, James QC, Bloombaum M, et al Racial factors in patient selection. Am J Psychiatry 124 630-636,1967 Yamashita I, Asano Y Tricyclic antidepressants therapeutic plasma level. Psychopharmacol Bull 15 40-41,1979 Ziegler VE, Biggs JT Tricyclic plasma levels effect of age, race, sex and smoking. JAMA 238 2167-2169,1977... 

Fig. 9 Racial factors and mean serum immunoglobulin levels. In their native environment IgG and IgM are raised. Domiciled in London for over 2 years only IgG is slightly raised. Genetic potential seems less important than environment. MNA = mean normal adult. Native Nigerian data are adapted from (T13). Courtesy of the British Journal of Hospital Medicine (H33).

The skin is well adapted to cope with many types of trauma, but excessive friction and microtrauma can result in the formation of various dermatoses (Table i). Microtraumas include a variety of superficial skin injuries friction, abrasions, pressure, stretching, compressions, cuts, etc. Mechanical insults to the skin may affect all levels of the skin from the cornified layer through the subcutaneous fat. The time allowed for adaptation determines the reaction of the skin. Slowly increasing pressure or friction induces hyperkeratosis, lichenification and calluses, while sudden friction can induce blisters. The effects of trauma are modified by humidity, sweating, age, gender, nutritional status, infection, genetic and racial factors. 

People who abuse inhalants are found in both urban and rural settings. Adverse socioeconomic conditions, rather than racial or cultural factors per se, account for most reported ethnic differences in rates of inhalant abuse. Native American youths living on reservations typically have higher rates of inhalant abuse than youths both in the general population and among Native Americans who do not live on reservations (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 1996). 

Susceptibility to acne is also due to genetic factors. It does not follow Mendelian rules however, if both parents had severe acne when adolescents, their children are likely to present with clinical acne in puberty. Genetic factors play an important role in determining the size and the activity of sebaceous glands, while exogenous factors such as colonization of P acnes modulate the clinical expression of acne. Racial differences also exist. Caucasians are more prone to severe acne than black people. 

Hemophilia A and B are coagulation disorders that result from defects in the genes encoding for plasma coagulation proteins. Hemophilia A (classic hemophilia) is caused by the deficiency of factor VIII, and hemophilia B (Christmas disease) is caused by the deficiency of factor IX. The incidences of hemophilia A and B are estimated at 1 in 5000 and 1 in 30,000 male births, respectively. Both types of hemophilia are evenly distributed across all ethnic and racial groups.1... 

It is widely held that differences exist in the usage and dosage of antipsychotics among ethnic minority groups. A number of factors are felt to account for these differences and include sociocultural variables (racial bias, cultural divide between patient and physician, language), as well as biological variables (pharmacogenetic, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic). 

Lawson, W. B. (1986). Racial and ethnic factors in psychiatric research. Hosp. Comm. Psychiatry, 37, 50M. 

Lawson, W. B. (1990). Biological markers in neuropsychiatric disorders racial and ethnic factors. In E. Sorel, ed., Family, Culture, and Psychobiology. New York Levas. 

Shavers, V. L., Lynch, C. F. Burmeister, L. F. (2002). Racial differences in factors that influence the willingness to participate in medical research studies. Ann. Epidemiol., 12, 248-56. 

Racial violence also was a factor in the late 1960s. One company eliminated both Newark, N.J. and Watts, Calif., from its list of possible locations because of the riots there. 

Very few studies have focused on ethnic African groups. Therefore, very little is known about the molecular basis of ethnic differences in disease incidence and drug response in native Africans. Unfortunately, previous studies in African American subjects cannot be generalized to include native African populations, due to the great heterogeneity of racial ancestry of African American subjects, as well as other factors. 

Susceptibility factors increase the risk for kidney disease but do not directly cause kidney damage. Susceptibility factors include advanced age, reduced kidney mass and low birth weight, racial or ethnic minority, family history, low income or education, systemic inflammation, and dyslipidemia. 

Racial/ethnic group membership was expected to be an important factor in an individual s level of trust of these institutions. Controlling for gender, age, education, and income, African Americans were about 40% less likely than whites to trust universities Asians and Hispanics were nearly twice as likely as whites to trust the federal government. However, race/ethnicity was not a factor in trust in the pharmaceutical industry nor in trust in health organizations. 

Several factors affect racial disparities in health. Traditional explanations point to social, economic, and environmental factors, including income, educational and employment status, lifestyle choices, occupational and... 

With the exception of identical twins, every individual has a unique genetic makeup. Because genetic factors are inherited from our parents, family members tend to have genetic similarities. Sometimes, members of the same racial or ethnic group are also more likely to have some similar genetic characteristics. 

One Cohort II interviewee from the Midwest remarked I was never interested in applying for jobs in the Midwest. I wanted to be somewhere... warm and near the ocean. In contrast, a Cohort IV interviewee from the East commented I didn t want to go to the Midwest where I thought I was going to encounter racial prejudice. For most interviewees, however, opportunity seemed to be the deciding factor in determining their current residence. 

Pearson (1985) supports many of these claims in his study of African American doctoral scientists. Most of his respondents believed that their career mobility had been limited by their racial status. This finding varied across cohorts. For example, 74% of those earning doctorates before 1955 believe their career were restricted by race. By the last cohort, doctorates earned between 1965 and 1974, 60% reported that their career mobility had been restricted. Further, at least half of the females respondents reported that race and gender played significant roles in limited their careers. Some 59% of respondents who earned doctorates at the most prestigious department also reported the negatives effects that race exerted on the careers. Most respondents attributed these limiting factors to discrimination (especially exclusion from the communications network). Many respondents report that open communication between African American and white scientists is impeded by the perception that many white scientists fail to accept African American scientists as intellectual peers. 

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