Men with prostate cancer are being diagnosed at a younger age and earlier stage today than in years past, and the racial disparity in stage at diagnosis has decreased significantly, researchers report today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “Traditionally, Blacks are diagnosed with prostate cancer at a later stage compared with Whites,” and are more likely to die of the disease, study co-author Dr. Grace L. Lu-Yao of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick, told Reuters Health. Lu-Yao and colleagues analyzed 2004-2005 data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program on more than 82,500 prostate cancer patients. They compared this group with patients diagnosed in 1988-1989 and 1996-1997. The average age at diagnosis decreased from about 72 years in 1988-1989 to about 67 years in 2004-2005 and the rate of particularly late-stage cases fell from about 53 to 8 per 100,000 among Whites and from 91 to 13 per 100,000 among Blacks. Based on the 2004-2005 data, the vast majority of men had cases diagnosed when they had not yet spread, Lu-Yao said. Lu-Yao credited prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for the earlier diagnoses. While that test is recommended by some medical groups, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force “concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening in men younger than age 75 years” and that men over the age of 75 should not be screened. The questions over screening come from the fact that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not be deadly, while the treatments can have significant side effects. The current study also “is the first nationwide study to document that the racial disparity in prostate cancer stage at diagnosis has decreased substantially during the period from 1988 to 2005,” Lu-Yao noted.

Despite having a Black President, racial differences still exist. Despite Black political, economic and social gains, racial disparities between Black Americans and Whites persist in just about every measurable form, reports The Associated Press. For instance: A typical Black household makes just 62 percent of the income of a typical White household – a gap that has changed little in 30 years, the AP found. In 2007, the median household income was $33,900 for Black households and $54,900 for White households. Blacks are nearly three times as likely as Whites to live in poverty. In 2007, 24.4 percent of Blacks had incomes below the poverty line, compared to 8.2 percent of Whites. Life expectancy among Blacks is, on average, about five years less than for Whites. In 2005, life expectancy at birth was 76.5 years for Black women and 80.8 years for white women. Life expectancy was 69.5 years for Black men and 75.7 years for White men. Blacks are less likely to have health insurance than Whites. In 2007, 19.2 percent of Blacks did not have health insurance, compared to 10.4 percent of Whites. Blacks are less likely to have college degrees than Whites. In 2007, 31.8 percent of Whites 25 and older had college degrees, compared to 18.5 percent of Blacks. And Blacks are more likely than Whites to be sentenced to prison, even though prison rates for Blacks have dropped in recent years even as they increased for Whites. In 2006, Black men were imprisoned at a rate of 3,042 per 100,000 residents, compared to a rate of 487 for White men.

Despite the fact that the timing may not seem just right – considering she still mourning the loss of her mother, brother and nephew – Jennifer Hudson has given GAP the green light to move forward with a holiday ad that features her. In the ad, Hudson is seen rocking a the store’s new “Wintersoft Turtleneck” with a cheerful smile. Olive Doyne, a spokeswoman for the clothing giant, said Hudson, who did the photo shoot for the ad back in May, was given the option to back out of the ad, but the singer/actress insisted “to be a part of it and that we should move forward.”  Meanwhile, the investigation continues in the triple murder of Hudson’s family members.  William Balfour, who was declared by Chicago Police as the one and only suspect in the case, reportedly has told his girlfriend he was involved in the murders.  He remains in police custody.

. People who eat too many sweet foods increase their obesity risk, a new study found. Eating too much fructose – a sugar found in foods ranging from cookies to candies and soda – can block the appetite-controlling hormone leptin from doing its job and increase the risk of obesity, a University of Florida study of rats suggests. Leptin resistance has long been linked to obesity, and a number of studies have shown that eating too many sugary foods laced with the corn-based sweetener may be an important factor in the United States’ obesity epidemic. This new study is the first to link fructose and leptin resistance, reports HealthDay.

The gap is growing between Black and White Chicago women dying from breast cancer.  Since 1980, when Black and White women in Chicago with breast cancer were equally likely to die, the death rates for White breast cancer patients have dramatically improved. But Black women have seen no such improvements, and in fact are dying at 116 percent higher rates than Whites in Chicago, according to new numbers released Wednesday by the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force. In fact, the gap has widened, the report says. Last year, the group analyzed data through 2003 and found a 68 percent higher death rate for Black women over those of Whites. Experts say genetics or biology alone cannot explain the difference. The racial gap in Chicago was twice that of the United States and sevenfold that of New York City, according to the researchers, who were from Sinai Urban Health Institute and who looked at vital records through 2005, obtained from the Illinois Department of Public Health. “It was as if no screening or treatment was going on for black women, which we knew was not true,” said Dr. David Ansell, chairman of the task force, made up of 74 health-care groups and more than 100 breast cancer physicians, researchers and advocates. Black women are less likely to get mammograms, the task force says. When they do, the mammograms are more likely to be of inferior quality. Those diagnosed with cancer also are less likely to have access to quality treatment. For more on Black women and breast cancer go to BET.com/Body & Soul.

Black Missourians are closing cancer gap. Blacks in Missouri are closing the racial gap for newly diagnosed cancers, a new report found. The rate of newly diagnosed cancers is roughly equal between Blacks and Whites in Missouri, according to an analysis of data from the Missouri Department of Health and state Cancer Registry. Only a decade ago, it was higher for Blacks. In 1996, Blacks in the state had an 18-percent higher rate of new cancer diagnoses than Whites. By 2003, the disparity had shrunk to 6 percent. “If the trend continues, we expect the difference in new diagnosis for Blacks and Whites will disappear by 2006,” said Mario Schootman, lead author of the report that will be published early next year in the journal Missouri Medicine. The 2006 numbers are not yet available for analysis, said Schootman, an associate professor of epidemiology and medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, and a leader at the Siteman Cancer Center. Schootman says the lower rates of new cancers are due to an overall decline in cigarette smoking and more cancer screenings.

Pass “Stop AIDS in Prison Act” says group. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is urging Congress to pass the Stop AIDS in Prison Act (H.R. 1943), which went before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. The foundation is largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the United States that currently provides treatment, care and support services to more than 80,000 individuals in 22 countries worldwide in North America, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia. The bill, introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and passed by the House last September, seeks to provide comprehensive HIV testing, treatment and prevention for inmates in federal prisons and upon re-entry into the community. The legislation directs the Federal Bureau of Prisons to test inmates upon entering and exiting federal prison and includes an “opt-out” provision should inmates wish to decline being tested. The bill also would ensure that inmates found to be HIV-positive receive treatment. The foundation “commends Rep. Waters for her leadership in shepherding this groundbreaking legislation that will go a long way toward protecting public health and saving lives,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “By making HIV-testing routine among the prison population, H.R. 1943 will not only help reduce the spread of infection among inmates, but it will also protect the health of the community at large. HIV/AIDS continues to affect minorities disproportionately. At the same time, African Americans and Latinos continue to be overrepresented in the prison population. With HIV-infection rates exploding among communities of color, this legislation is a practical way to identify infected individuals and link them to medical care and treatment, and as parolees return to the community, to help break the chain of infection.”

Racial gap is narrowing for injury-related deaths.

When it comes to injury-related deaths, the gap between Black and White American youths is narrowing, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study found that between 1999 and 2005 injury-related deaths among Blacks ages 15 to 24 decreased, while injury-related deaths among Whites increased. The findings are published in the June, 2008, edition of Injury Prevention. “Between the years of 1999 and 2005 the injury mortality rates among Black males have experienced a steady decline,” said Susan Baker, MPH, an author of the study and professor in the Bloomberg School ’s Center for Injury Research and Policy. “The reduction could be due to a number of preventive efforts, as well as demographic and economic changes,” said Guoqing Hu, Ph.D., lead author and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Health Policy and Management. The researchers found the most important factors in the reduction of injury death disparity was fewer car crashes and suicides by gun among Black males and an increase in suicide by suffocation (typically hanging) and unintentional poisoning, such as a drug overdose, among White males. Among young women, Black females experienced a decline in the rate of firearm suicide, while White females experienced an increase in unintentional poisoning and suicidal suffocation.

High blood pressure follows you to adulthood.

High blood pressure in childhood is associated with higher blood pressure or hypertension in adulthood, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their analysis of previously published blood-pressure tracking studies over the last four decades show a consistent relationship between children’s blood pressure levels with their blood pressure levels as adults. “The blood pressure tracking data indicate that children with elevated blood pressure levels often grew up to become adults with elevated blood pressure,” said Youfa Wang, MD, Ph.D., senior author of the study and associate professor with the Bloomberg School’s Center for Human Nutrition. “It is important to monitor blood pressure in children – since early detection and intervention could prevent hypertension and related disease risks later in life. For example, studies show that even slightly elevated blood pressure as adults will increase future risks for cardiovascular disease considerably. “Wang and Xiaoli Chen, MD, Ph.D., former postdoctoral research fellow in the Bloomberg School’s Department of International Health, studied blood pressure levels at various ages and follow-up lengths from previously published studies that monitored children’s blood pressure levels for as long as 40 years across multiple countries and continents. Currently it is estimated that nearly 73 million adults in the United States have high blood pressure. African Americans have higher rates of hypertension, which is one of the major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, can lead to heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and a number of other health problems. A previous study conducted by Wang and colleagues found that approximately 60 percent of American adults had pre-hypertension or hypertension in 1999 to 2000, and several population groups were disproportionately affected. The prevalence of hypertension has increased nearly 10 percentage points compared to findings in a 1988-94 national survey. Wang credits this in part to the rising obesity epidemic.