This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Buchanan, R. J Articles by Kim, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Buchanan, R. J Articles by Kim, M. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Nursing home residents with multiple sclerosis: comparisons of African American residents to white residents at admission

College of Health and Human Services, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA, rjbuchan{at}email.uncc.edu

Raymond A Martin

Department of Neurology, Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

Miguel Zuniga

Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Rural Public Health, The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, College Station, TX, USA

Suojin Wang

Department of Statistics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

MyungSuk Kim

Department of Statistics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

This research profiles African American residents with multiple sclerosis (MS) at admission to the nursing facility and compares them to profiles of white residents with MS using the Minimum Data Set (MDS). We analysed MDS admission assessments for 1367 African Americans with MS and 9294 whites with MS. African American residents with MS were significantly younger at admission than white residents with MS, with almost one half of these African Americans 50 years or younger compared to only one quarter of these whites. African American residents with MS were significantly more physically disabled and cognitively impaired at admission than white residents with MS. Although there were significant racial differences in disability, there were no significant racial differences among these MS residents in the use of various therapies provided by qualified therapists. These observed racial differences among MS residents in disease manifestations, severity, progression and disability are due to multiple variables and point out the need for more research. By combining discoveries from genetics, immunology, epidemiology and virology we can gain a better understanding of the complex pathophysiology of MS and develop more effective treatments and preventive measures. Our findings also indicate potential racial disparities in the use of MS-related care, illustrating that a greater outreach effort may be needed to evaluate and treat African Americans with MS.

Key Words: African Americans • MDS • MS • nursing facilities

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R T Naismith, K Trinkaus, and A H Cross Phenotype and prognosis in African-Americans with multiple sclerosis: a retrospective chart review Multiple Sclerosis, November 1, 2006; 12(6): 775 - 781. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Shabas and M. Heffner Multiple sclerosis management for low-income minorities Multiple Sclerosis, December 1, 2005; 11(6): 635 - 640. [Abstract] [PDF]