Socioeconomic inequalities and Black/White disparities in US cocaine-involved overdose mortality risk

Purpose

This study examined whether socioeconomic inequalities account for Black/White disparities in: (a) the prevalence of potential risk factors for overdose among adults using cocaine; and (b) national mortality rates for cocaine-involved overdose.

Methods

Data from 2162 Non-Hispanic (NH) Black or White adults (26 +) who reported past-year cocaine use in the 2015–2019 National Survey of Drug Use and Health were analyzed to obtain predicted probabilities of potential overdose risk factors by race and sex, using marginal effects via regression analyses, adjusting for age and socioeconomic indicators. Next, National Center for Health Statistics data (for 47,184 NH Black or White adults [26 +] who died of cocaine-involved overdose between 2015 and 2019) were used to calculate cocaine-involved overdose mortality rates by race and sex across age and educational levels.

Results

Several potential overdose vulnerabilities were disproportionately observed among NH Black adults who reported past-year cocaine use: poor/fair overall health; cocaine use disorder; more days of cocaine use yearly; hypertension (for women); and arrests (for men). Adjusting for age and socioeconomic indicators attenuated or eliminated many of these racial differences, although predicted days of cocaine use per year (for men) and cocaine use disorder (for women) remained higher in NH Black than White adults. Cocaine-involved overdose mortality rates were highest in the lowest educational strata of both races; nonetheless, Black/White disparities were observed even at the highest level of education, especially for adults ages 50 + .

Conclusion

Age and socioeconomic characteristics may account for some, yet not all, of Black/White disparities in vulnerability to cocaine-involved overdose.

     

Breast Cancer Treatment among African American Women in North St. Louis,Missouri

Similar to disparities seen at the national and state levels, African American women in St. Louis, Missouri have higher breast cancer mortality rates than their Caucasian counterparts. We examined breast cancer treatment (regimens and timing) in a sample of African American breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2008 while residing in a North St. Louis cluster (eight zip codes) of late stage at diagnosis. Data were obtained from medical record extractions of women participating in a mixed-method study of breast cancer treatment experiences. The median time between diagnosis and initiation of treatment was 27 days; 12.2 % of the women had treatment delay over 60 days. These findings suggest that treatment delay and regimens are unlikely contributors to excess mortality rates for African American women diagnosed in early stages. Conflicting research findings on treatment delay may result from the inconsistent definitions of treatment delay and variations among study populations. Breast cancer treatment delay may reduce breast cancer survival; additional research is needed to better understand the points at which delays are most likely to occur and develop policies, programs, and interventions to address disparities in treatment delay. There may also be differences in treatment-related survivorship quality of life; approximately 54 % of the women in this sample treated with mastectomies received breast reconstruction surgery. Despite the high reconstruction rates, most women did not receive definitive completion. African American women have higher reconstruction complication rates than Caucasian women; these data provide additional evidence to suggest a disparity in breast reconstruction outcomes by race.