A lifetime of racism makes Alzheimer’s more common in Black Americans

  • 📰 AP
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 81 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 36%
  • Publisher: 51%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Alzheimer’s disease is one of many illnesses that disproportionately affects Black Americans. About 14% of Black Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's, compared with 10% of white Americans, according to the CDC.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Constance Guthrie is not yet dead, but her daughter has begun to plan her funeral.

Photographs of mother and daughter, Constance and Jessica Guthrie, decorate a bedroom, in Fredericksburg, Va., on Sept. 19, 2022. While some risk factors for Alzheimer’s may differ by race, the large disparities among racial groups can’t be explained just by genetics. Across the board, Black people don’t receive the same quality of health care throughout life as white people.

“To be a caregiver of someone living with Alzheimer’s is that you watch your loved one die every day. I’ve been grieving my mom for seven years.” In the 1990s, she made the difficult decision to move and close her beloved salon. She bought a home in Fredericksburg so her daughter could attend the best schools, and later became a paraprofessional in the local school district, which allowed her to have a schedule where she never missed oratorical contests or choir recitals.

She started to forget simple things, like where her keys were. She lost her way coming home from work on a familiar route she traveled almost daily for 18 years. She got into a car accident. “She spent so long trying to hide it,” Jessica said. “Like, ‘Oh, I’m good, I’m fine. I just forgot.’ But you could tell that a lot of her anxiety and stress was because she was trying to cover this up from other people.”

Constance never had diabetes nor high blood pressure — which are common risk factors. She was fairly active and healthy, and would often walk around her neighborhood. But in 2015, Constance suffered a transient ischaemic attack, or a “mini stroke,” which is a brief disruption in the blood supply to part of the brain.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 728. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

A lifetime of racism makes Alzheimer’s more common in Black AmericansAs populations of color are expected to rise, so are the number of their cases of Alzheimer’s and related disorders. Cases among Black Americans are projected to increase four times over current estimates, according to the CDC.
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »

A lifetime of racism makes Alzheimer’s more common in Black AmericansIn older adulthood, Black Americans are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than their white counterparts. About 14% of Black Americans over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's, compared with 10% of white Americans, according to the CDC. Constance Guthrie is not yet dead, but her daughter has begun to plan her funeral. Guthrie is a victim of Alzheimer's, a scourge of the Black community that threatens to grow far worse in coming decades.
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »

5 takeaways from AP's series on health disparities impacting Black AmericansThe Associated Press spent a year examining how racial health disparities have harmed generations of Black Americans. WHY ARE BLACK BABIES AND MOTHERS MORE LIKELY TO DIE? Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States — 69.9 per 100,000 live births for 2021, almost three times the rate for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2021 rate was a significant increase from the prior year.
Source: YahooNews - 🏆 380. / 59 Read more »

National Urban League, Wells Fargo Confront Black Housing Challenges With ‘Home Appraisal Initiative’ - Word In BlackThe gap between Black and white homeownership is widening, which is why the National Urban League and WellsFargo are using the Home Appraisal Initiative to confront Black housing challenges. financialjourney
Source: NYAmNews - 🏆 269. / 63 Read more »

Kanye West wears extreme shoulder pads and sock shoes again during outing with kidsThe “All of the Lights” rapper wore a black T-shirt with bulging shoulder pads underneath, a pair of black high-water pants and black sock shoes.
Source: PageSix - 🏆 320. / 59 Read more »

More Americans apply for jobless benefits, but labor market remains tightU.S. applications for jobless claims rose slightly last week but remain at healthy levels as companies seem reticent to let go of employees in a tight labor market.
Source: KSLcom - 🏆 549. / 51 Read more »