The Use of Race in Medical Research

Abstract

IS RACIAL research in medicine racist? Publications about comparative racial research number in the thousands. A review of the English-language medical literature reveals that there is a predilection for making comparisons between black and white patients, particularly with diseases associated with promiscuity, underachievement, and antisocial behavior. Reports on studies of sexually acquired diseases,1-6 suboptimal intellectual performance,7-9 drug abuse,10,11 violence,12-14 and sexual assault15-17 are common. Other topics of racial comparison are differences in incidence of renal and cardiovas-cular18-21 diseases and presumed racial differences in anatomy,22,23 physiology,24-26 and psychology.27See also pp 259 and 268.When race is used as a variable in research, there is a tendency to assume that the results obtained are a manifestation of the biology of racial differences; race as a variable implies that a genetic reason may explain differences in incidence, severity, or outcome ofmedical conditions. Research¬ ers, without saying so, lead readers to assume that certain racial groups have a special predisposition, risk, or suscep¬ tibility to the illnesses studied. Since this presupposition is seldom warranted, this kind of comparison may be taken to represent a subtle form of racism. But in any case, although there are ethical problems with the search for genetic reasons to explain certain types of diseases, the scientific pitfalls that stand in the way of ethnic research are formidable since racial status is highly correlated with social, economic, and political factors. We will explore the practical problems and examine the consequences of using race as a category in medical re¬ search. Practical Problems With Racial ClassificationRacism.-Scientists do not operate in a vacuum; they are members of a larger society and operate within a social, political, and cultural framework. Racism-a doctrine, atti¬ tude, or activity that promotes feelings of antagonism based on racial differences-has influenced for centuries the na¬ ture, structure, and function of societies. It is a term that applies especially to activities that encourage feelings of ra¬ cial superiority, inferiority, or purity. It also applies to doc¬ trines that further the concept that the behavior, social achievements, and intellectual capacity of humans are ge¬ netically determined by race. It is unlikely that scientists From the

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“…[32][33][34][35][36] Race is defined as a social category determined primarily by how one group perceives, values, and behaves toward another group. 9 In short, race is a social category, not a biologic one.…”

African American women have poor long-term survival following ischemic stroke

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