Genetic research and health disparities.

Full Abstract

Alleviating health disparities in the United States is a goal with broad support. Medical research undertaken to achieve this goal typically adopts the well-established perspective that racial discrimination and poverty are the major contributors to unequal health status. However, the suggestion is increasingly made that genetic research also has a significant role to play in alleviating this problem, which likely overstates the importance of genetics as a factor in health disparities. Overemphasis on genetics as a major explanatory factor in health disparities could lead researchers to miss factors that contribute to disparities more substantially and may also reinforce racial stereotyping, which may contribute to disparities in the first place. Arguments that promote genetics research as a way to help alleviate health disparities are augmented by several factors, including research funding initiatives and the distinct demographic patterns of health disparities in the United States.

Author information

Author/s: Sankar, Pamela (P); Cho, Mildred K (MK); Condit, Celeste M (CM); Hunt, Linda M (LM); Koenig, Barbara (B); Marshall, Patricia (P); Lee, Sandra Soo-Jin (SS); Spicer, Paul (P);

Affiliation: Center for Bioethics, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104-3308, USA. sankarp(-atsign-)mail.med.upenn.edu

Grants: 1K01HG002883-01 (Agency:NHGRI NIH HHS) ; 5K01HG002299-04 (Agency:NHGRI NIH HHS) ; 5R01ES010830-03 (Agency:NIEHS NIH HHS) ; 5R01HG002191-03 (Agency:NHGRI NIH HHS) ; R01 DA014577-01A1 (Agency:NIDA NIH HHS) ; R01 HG002189-01 (Agency:NHGRI NIH HHS) ; R01 HG002189-02 (Agency:NHGRI NIH HHS) ; R01 HG002189-03 (Agency:NHGRI NIH HHS) ; R01 HG02189-03 (Agency:NHGRI NIH HHS) ; R01-HG02207-01 (Agency:NHGRI NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2004-Jun; vol 291 (issue 24) : pp 2985-9

Dates: Created 2004/06/23; Completed 2004/06/28; Revised 2008/10/16;

PMID: 15213210, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.