Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: W hen the Journal was launched in 1812, claims had circu- lated for centuries about differences in anatomy, physiology, and disease susceptibility between different human populations.1 Physicians' persistent belief that these differences are innate has long drawn attention away from other possible causes of health inequities.As the Journal explores its history and acknowledges its role in voicing and perpetuating racism and discrimination, it must examine how it grappled with the problem of difference.The scope of the potential reckoning is vast.In early decades, the Journal published most often about differences among Europeans, Africans, and Indigenous Americans.Similar discourses would emerge about differences between White people (a term once reserved for people of northwestern European ancestry) and Jewish people, Irish people, Mexicans, or Asians, and between men and women.[2][3][4][5] Over the centuries, health inequities have been described in every major cause of human disease, from smallpox in the 17th century to cancer and heart disease today.6 It's impossible to explore all aspects of this issue in a short review, so we attempt an illustrative analysis, building on previous articles in this series by focusing on Journal articles about Black and Indigenous Americans.
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
DOI: 10.1056/nejmp2307312
Institution: Harvard University
Language: English
Topic: Race, Genetics, and Society
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4391277887