Prevalence of Race/Ethnicity Reporting in Light Chain (AL) Amyloidosis Clinical Research in the USA. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2023 Apr;10(2):644-650
Date
02/03/2022Pubmed ID
35106741Pubmed Central ID
PMC9339584DOI
10.1007/s40615-022-01252-3Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85123997876 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
Little is known about racial differences in the incidence of light chain (AL) amyloidosis despite the well-documented racial disparities in the epidemiology of other plasma cell disorders. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which published clinical research in AL amyloidosis report information on patients' race. Clinical research publications in AL amyloidosis between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2020, from the USA were identified. In addition to the reporting of race, study design, funding, cohort size, year of publication, impact factor of publication journal, and first author degree were abstracted. Among papers reporting race, we also assessed whether ethnicity was reported separately. A PubMed search yielded 2,770 papers of which 220 met the pre-specified criteria for analysis. Of those, 37 (16.5%) reported race. Single institution publications, those with physicians as first authors, and those published in journals with impact factor 6 or higher were less likely to report race. On multivariate analysis, only single institution studies were negatively associated with race reporting. Of the 37 papers reporting race, none defined it in methods, 16% stated how race was identified, and 19% discussed its significance. Ethnicity was reported in 6 studies. Our results indicate that race/ethnicity is underreported in USA. AL amyloidosis clinical literature leads to a challenge for identifying potential racial/ethnic disparities. Standards for collecting and reporting racial/ethnic demographics are needed. Clear and consistent reporting of race and ethnicity of clinical populations is a necessary first step in identifying disparities and promoting equitable care.
Author List
Lin M, Pezzin LE, Mohamedi A, Kansagra A, D'Souza AAuthors
Anita D'Souza MD Associate Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinLiliana Pezzin PhD, JD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
HumansImmunoglobulin Light-chain Amyloidosis
Prevalence
Research Design
United States
