3 environmental issues disproportionately affecting Hispanic patients

Special factors influencing the health of the Hispanic population stepped into the spotlight during a panel discussion last week.  Learn what health care researchers are discovering about environmental factors that impact the health of this underserved patient population. Researchers and physicians at the event hosted by the AMA Minority Affairs Section and the National Hispanic Medical Association discussed how multiple factors—ranging from a lack of Hispanic physicians in medicine to lurking environmental contaminants—shape Hispanic health. Some of the top issues they discussed included: The impact of environmental contaminants on Hispanic children. Often, when people think of the environment, they “think of whales and wilderness, trees and tigers, but actually, the environment is everywhere we are …. And a child’s environment [consists of] everything we come in touch with,” said Maryann Suero, PhD, an environmental health scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Suero said the average adult interacts with nearly 60,000-80,000 chemicals each day. These chemicals have varying levels of toxicity, she said, and the harmful ones often find children indoors—at home or in childcare facilities—rather than outside. For instance, lead disproportionately affects Hispanic children, and many are not being tested for it. “When we look at the blood-lead testing rate for Illinois, almost 29 percent of children were tested in Illinois, bu...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news