Introduction
When it comes to the topic of race, it can be observed to have many meanings ranging from social to biological. According to anthropologists’ views, race can be viewed in terms of biological and cultural variability. Anthropologists look at the customs of the society from various parts of the world in order to search for the common elements that define people’s existence. There have been many types of research that have been conducted in order to find the relation and impact between race and medicine. The reason for the researches is because of the constant debates that have occurred over the years with regards to how race affects the health of a person and treatment. There have been some findings that indicate that there is a relation between race and medicine. These roles are disease risk, treatment response, treatment-related side effects, and disease progression. All these factors play a major role in describing and interpreting what role race plays when it comes to medicine. Some anthropologists have argued that race and medicine have not been brought on by social issues. They believe that biological factors are what has brought on the problem.
According to research conducted, it can be observed that in Brazil the afro-Brazilians have a high infant mortality rates compared to the whites. Singapore has been found that Indians have twice as high rates of diabetes mellitus compared with the Chinese. It has been observed that in Canada the indigenous people have a high rate of deaths compared to those who are non-indigenous. In the United States of America, records show that more than 83,000 people who die are African Americans. This is by far more people compared to the whites or Asians. Anthropologists as well and medical researchers are trying to prove that race is a natural biological concept that does not influence anything when it comes to medicine.
History of research
Anthropologist began studying on the matter of race been a biological concept in the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. In the 1960s, there are many anthropologists who refuted the fact that race is biological (Koenig, 2010, p0). The reason for this fact could be because race is considered to be a sociocultural phenomenon. However, with the change of times many have stated to reconsider this notion. Many people are trying to improve people’s opinions when it comes to the topic of racism and medicine. Due to this fact, many medical practitioners have begun seeking the guidance of the anthropologists in order to know the meaning of race. This will help to remove the bias behaviors that most physicians have regarding race and health.
Race and disease
There are many factors that bring about health disparities between the racial groups. Some of the factors, in this case, are cultural norms, environmental factors, racial population and social factors. It has been observed that in areas where the socioeconomic is less the people receive less medical care. This can be found in history where there is racialization when it comes to medicine. It can be observed that racism in the medical field has decreased over the years due to the interaction between the medical practitioners and the anthropologist who explain what race truly is in the world (Chartuvedi, 2001, p.926). However, in the modern world, there are still some medical practitioners who continue to use race to justify medical conditions or treatment. Through history, it can be observed that African Americans have had a tough time in getting the needed medical attention. Research shows that African American people have a lower lung capacity compared to that of the white people. Nevertheless, the black people will not receive medical intervention at a faster rate compared to that of the white people with the same conditions. This fact can be considered to be socially related. People from a particular social class have been denied their medical care because of their social environment.
Race and genetics
There have been many types of research that have been conducted regarding genetics and race and how it impacts medicine. Many medical practitioners believe that genetics could affect a person’s health and medical care. When searching for this topic, one looks at the human evolution in order to find answers. However, most researchers have refuted this notion and continued to believe that race is based on a person’s culture in the society. There have been some reports that the human genome or the genes of people has been changing because of evolutionary pressure that comes from each race (Gravlee, 2014, p.28). The reason for this to occur is because people from different locations around the world have been able to respond differently depending on their location. It is claimed that some of these genes seem to be active in the brain. However, it appears that the genes have an unknown function in the brain. This fact makes it possible for one to come to the conclusion that the brain of human beings has not been exempted from evolution just like the body.
When looking at this fact, it shows that the social behaviors of people in the society have been brought on by the evolution just in the same manner as the body. Human beings are known to be very social species. Therefore, they are very careful when it comes to their social behaviors in the society. This can be considered to be some form of natural selection. Human beings took many years to become what they are in the modern world. In the beginning, they used to be hunters and gatherers. At that time they did not have a roof over their heads and; therefore, most of them lived in caves. Their social behaviors are what caused them to take so long to evolve. People are not good with changes; therefore, they prefer to stay in their familiar places. The fact that world and people are always evolving it shows that the social behaviors are also changing. In the past, racialization was being practiced in the medical field, police field, and political field. However, with the passing of time, these aspects have changed in that people were able to elect the first black president in America.
When it comes to the evolution of race and health, it shows that genes are being linked to having a strong selection when it comes to response to the local diseases. An example of this fact is that of people with Duffy negative antigen are stated to have a higher resistance to malaria. In the African continent, there are many cases of people who are ailing or dying from malaria. The reason that could be causing them to get malaria easily is the fact that they have the Duffy negative antigen. People who are non-African are stated to have Duffy positive antigen, and that is the reason they do not get malaria easily. There are also a number of different genetic diseases that are prevalent in malaria afflicted areas in that it causes genetic resistance to malaria. Examples of these diseases are thalassaemias and sickle cell disease (Gravlee, 2014, p.29).
Some researchers were able to come up with the common theory, which talks about the common disease-common variant model. This theory states that for the common diseases the genetic contribution that can be observed is that from the additive effects of the gene variant that is common in the population of an area. According to the research, it states that the gene variant has the possibility of causing a small risk of the disease. However, there is no proof that a single variant is enough to cause a certain disease, but if a person has many common gene variants, then there is a big possibility that they are at risk of getting the disease.
Another theory that has been used for this topic is the common disease-rare variant. This theory looks at the rare but higher risk gene variants that are stated to cause a common disease. The research shows that this type of theory can be used to explain about the diseases that usually cause infertility among men and women. This can be observed to be different from that of common genes that are associated with common diseases which have a very little effect especially when it comes to during the reproductive period of life. An example is the Alzheimer’s disease, Crohns disease, type 2 diabetes and deep venous thrombosis. Health disparities among humans may be caused by the varying frequencies of genes variant that are in the different population. Anthropologists have found these facts to be highly important when discussing race and Heath (McClellan, 2010, p.). This will, therefore, help people to understand why they can get certain diseases while others are not getting it. The medical practitioner’s o the hand are the ones who will have a better opportunity to understand the common diseases and find ways to treat them.
Gene interaction
According to researchers, they discovered that the same gene variant has the possibility of producing different effects in different populations (Gravlee, 2014, p.27). One of the examples that have been provided for this fact is the progress of HIV to AIDS and death. The research indicates that the rate of progression of the diseases can be caused by the different genes variation of people of a certain race. Among the Hispanic and Caucasians, they have the HHC haplotypes, which is stated to cause disease retardation. This gene controls the progression of diseases thus; it may lead to the delaying of one’s death. However, for the African Americans or Africans, they have the HHC haplotypes that increase the disease progression. This fact can explain why the rate of people dying in the African countries due to contracting HIV is high.
Many research show that the rate of people dying on the African continent due to AIDS is very high at an alarming rate. Research showed that the CD4+T cell for African American men is fewer if compared to the Caucasians and Latinos. In the European countries as well as America, the rate of people dying due to the disease is very low compared to the African countries (Collins, 2003). However for the Asians, the rate of people with HIV is very low. This could be explained by their social interactions and taboos, but the most common aspect is due to their genes. Researchers have also found out that there is a gene that the Africans have that can reduce the progression of a disease called the CCR2-641. However, for the Caucasians, they do not have this gene present in their bodies. Even though, there are some research as well as results regarding these facts many medical practitioners and anthropologist have not been able to understand fully how different race can cause the progression of a certain disease. Therefore, more attention and care will be given to the different parts of the population that show the progression of a certain disease at a faster rate.
Gene flow
There have been numerous researchers that have found a link between the connection between the gene flow with that of the relationship between race and medicine. One good example that was provided by the researchers is multiple sclerosis. The people who are known for having this disease are from the European descent. This fact means that their gene flow makes them easily accessible to getting the disease. Another population that is claimed to get the disorder easily are the African Americans. The research states that African American have an admixture of genes that makes it easy for them to get the disease. However, this is not the same for people from the African descent.
Prevention
Numerous research indicates that genetics does play a role in causing common diseases such as diabetes, cancer, mental illnesses and cardiovascular diseases (Smedley, 2005). While anthropologist has come to the conclusion that genetic variants are brought on by the environmental structure. This means that the place that one is staying will determine the type of gene variants they will have in the body. It is a fact that different geographic areas determine a person’s race. People from the African countries are stated to be prone to getting diseases such as sickle cell diseases. While for the European population it is claimed that they are prone to get Cystic fibrosis. In looking at this research, one can understand more about genes and the health of people of a certain race and geography.
The medical practitioners of these regions will be provided with this information, and necessary steps will be taken in order to detect and prevent the progression of the disease. An example is that children who have been discovered to have the genes in the body should be closely monitored and checked in order for the disease, not t progress. Other researchers do agree that genetics plays a major role in race and health. However, they also believe that social and environmental factors also play a major role. These means that the combination of all the three factors will impact the health of a person from a particular race.
Medication
Research shows that there are common diseases that are associated with people from a certain race who have a common gene. By knowing these facts then it will be easier for the medical practitioners to be able to handle the illnesses brought to their hospitals. For African Americans, they are stated to have a high chance of progression of diseases. This is the main reason why the number of African Americans who died annually is higher if compared to the Caucasians and Latinos (Suarez, 2015, p.913). The information will, therefore, make it easy for people to know more about their genetic variants and how it is related to their race and health. As for the African American, they will learn how to take care of their health and also seek medical attention for any illness that they might have in their bodies. The medical practitioners are also able to learn more about race and health without racialization of the whole matter. In short they will be able to learn more about genes and race and the type of medication they should provide the people of different races.
In conclusion, the topic of race and health is a complex subject. This is the reason many researchers are trying their level best to get the answers that are needed. Race, on the other hand, has various meanings and definitions. The definition ranges from biological, environmental and social.in this case the biological concept is the one that will best describe the problem. Many anthropologists and medical practitioners have firm beliefs that genes are what makes a person belong to a certain group of race. An anthropologist has a major role to play when it comes to the topic of health and race. According to their research, they have been able to find a link between race and health. The race is biological, and that is why some certain race can get some common disease. This fact can be observed from the numerous research that has been conducted.
Reference
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Collins FS, G. (2003). A vision for the future of genomics research. Nature 422.
Gravlee, C. C. (2014). Race, Ethnicity, and Racism in Medical. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 27-45.
Koenig, B. A. (2010). The Decline of Race in American Physical Anthropology. Anthropological Review, 3-21.
McClellan, J. (2010). Genetic Heterogeneity in Human Disease. Cell 141.
MW, S. (2004). "A high-density admixture map for disease gene discovery in African Americans. American Journal of Human Genetics , 1001-1013.
Smedley A, S. (2005). Race as biology is fiction, racism as a social problem is real: Anthropological and historical perspectives on the social construction of race. The American Psychologist, 16-26.
Suarez, J. J. (2015). "Food Access, Chronic Kidney Disease, and Hypertension in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 912-920.
