Discrimination in the workplace refers to unjust conditions or unfavourable treatment based on personal characteristics, especially race, sex, or age.
How can discrimination impact our health?
Despite this, multiple studies have shown that discrimination increases the risk of developing a wide spectrum of heart disease risk factors. This can also include chronic low-grade inflammation, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, in addition to hypertension.
Who participated in the work discrimination research?
The survey followed a national sample of 1,246 adults from a variety of occupations and educational levels, with roughly equal proportions of men and women.
The majority were Caucasian, middle-aged, and married. They were predominantly nonsmokers who consumed low to moderate quantities of alcohol and engaged in moderate to vigorous exercise. None of the participants had elevated blood pressure based on the initial measurements.
In general, prostate cancer is considered a disease of older men. However, approximately 10% of new cancer diagnoses occur in men aged 55 or younger, and these malignancies typically have a poorer prognosis. The difference is partially explained by biological differences. For instance, certain genetic abnormalities are more prevalent in prostate cancers diagnosed in younger men than in elderly men with the disease.
New research from the Jacksonville College of Medicine (JCM) in Florida suggests that socioeconomic factors also play a significant role. It is well established that poverty, educational level, and other socioeconomic status (SES) factors affect cancer survival.
This is the first study to examine how SES affects survival, specifically in early-onset prostate cancer. The findings indicate that men with a lower SES do not survive as long as those with a higher SES. "They're more likely to be diagnosed in advanced stages," says Dr. Carlos Riveros, a physician and research associate at JCM and the paper's lead author.
What the study discovered
Dr. Riveros and his colleagues analysed data from the National Cancer Database (NCD), which is supported by the American College of Surgeons and the National Cancer Institute, during the investigation. The NCD collects information from more than 1,500 institutions across the United States. Between 2004 and 2018, Dr. Riveros's team focused specifically on long-term outcome data for 112,563 men diagnosed with early-onset prostate cancer.
The researchers could determine each patient's postal code. Then, they examined the per-capita income and the percentage of residents who lacked a high school diploma for each of the respective zip codes. The combined income and education data served as a composite SES measure for the population of each zip code. In the concluding step, the team compared the survival rates of patients with early-onset prostate cancer across zip codes.
In comparison to high-SES patients, low-SES men were significantly more likely to be African-American and less likely to have health insurance. More men with low socioeconomic status lived in rural areas and were diagnosed with prostate cancer at stage IV. Fewer low-SES patients were treated at cutting-edge cancer centres, and fewer of them underwent surgery.
After adjusting for age, race, ethnicity, cancer stage, and treatment, men with lower SES were 1.5 times more likely to have died during a median follow-up of 79 months than men with higher SES.
In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, it is not surprising that children are spending more and more time on electronic devices. And while there is undoubtedly much to be learned, investigated, and created using devices, there are skills that devices cannot always teach and which children must acquire.
Play enhances executive function and mood regulation.
Children must acquire and practise executive function, emotional control, and general physical skills as they develop. The best method for children to acquire these abilities is through play, which is why we say that play is a child's work. As devices become more pervasive and as many children become more scheduled with lessons and organised activities, it can be easy to forget to schedule time for device-free play.
I also believe that parents and children are forgetting how to play. Parents used to bring toys for their children to play with while they waited to see me, but now they simply give them their phones. Devices are so pervasive and convenient that it can be difficult to put them down and find something else to do.