I thought I would begin by sharing this XKCD comic. It is amusing and brings up one of the big issues that I think about whenever I read medical or public health research: correlation does not imply causation. This makes some of the book slightly more difficult to read because it contains these long lists of possible factors and possibilities and very little in the way of concrete findings. Instead having numerous examples of statements similar to, “Birth weight is indeed a case in which genetics, biology, and society become intimately linked.” (15).
One of these numerous factors evaluated brings up something I find particularly interesting, the issue of race and health. Conley when discussing the problems of race based science brings up eugenics briefly a few times, yet not by name. He discusses the, “dubious linkages drawn in the nineteenth century between genetics and inequality--and race was a favored topic of this work. Correctly fearing a return to such so-called science, many researchers (both biologists and social scientists) have avoided considering genetic explanations of racial differences in health.” (44) However, the only time he mentions eugenics by name (that I have yet to find in the book) is in referring to the work of Troy Duster who has written extensively on genetics as a modern-day eugenics movement.
Another criticism of race-based medicine Conley raises is that of Jacqueiline Stevens who, “points out that racism stems from views about innate differences, and medical research now emphasizing such innate differences with genetic research may be hardening the very theoretical basis of racism.” (47) This quote immediately reminded me of an episode of House M.D. (entitled “Humpty Dumpty”) in which a patient in the clinic refuses to take the pill “targeted to African-Americans” and refers to it as a “racist drug”. There has been some skepticism by African-Americans about these types of drugs in large part due to the historical instances of race-based medicine. This is seen in this Keith Knight comic from “The K Chronicles”.
For more information about the race-based medication, BiDil, you can check out the Scientific American article, “Race in a Bottle”.
The subject of race as it relates to health is relevant, not only in a discussion of the causes and consequences of having a low birth weight, but in much of what we have discussed in class thus far. As illustrated in "The Starting Gate." It is difficult to determine whether different races are more prone to certain health issues due to genetic or biological factors, or if it is a result of the environment in which the parents live. The authors cited things like poor nutrition, exposure to toxins, and lack of education as possible contributers to low birth weight. I think it would have been interesting if they had looked more at the difference in low birth weight rates between white people of low socioeconomic status and black people of socioeconomic status. If rates were similar, low birth weight would be more likely a result of environmental factors, if not then it may be biological or genetic. Perhaps they will go into this later on in the book.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your point about the book being a bit difficult to read because of the long list of factors that may or may not contribute to a baby being born with a low birth weight. I am interested to see if the authors draw any more concrete conclusions later on in the book after considering the various possible causes.