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Stormy weather: Race, gene expression, and the science of health disparities

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  • Krieger, N.

Abstract

In the current US political climate, conservative foundations are seeking to frame debates over determinants of racial/ethnic health disparities as a matter of "politically correct" unscientific ideology (concerning the health impacts of discrimination) vs scientific yet "politically incorrect" expertise rooted in biological facts (concerning genes). I draw on historical and contemporary examples to place conservative polemics in context, and also highlight fundamental flaws in their arguments involving the use of spurious categories (e.g., Caucasian), logical fallacies, temporal fallacies, and an erroneous emphasis on gene frequency over gene expression. The larger goal is to strengthen development of a more critical, reflexive, and rigorous science capable of generating evidence useful for rectifying-rather than perpetuating-social disparities in health.

Suggested Citation

  • Krieger, N., 2005. "Stormy weather: Race, gene expression, and the science of health disparities," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(12), pages 2155-2160.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2005.067108_6
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.067108
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    Cited by:

    1. Hunt, Linda M. & Megyesi, Mary S., 2008. "The ambiguous meanings of the racial/ethnic categories routinely used in human genetics research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 349-361, January.
    2. Zeljko, Hrvojka Marija & Škarić-Jurić, Tatjana & Narančić, Nina Smolej & Barešić, Ana & Tomas, Željka & Petranović, Matea Zajc & Miličić, Jasna & Salihović, Marijana Peričić & Janićijević, Branka, 2013. "Age trends in prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in Roma minority population of Croatia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 326-336.
    3. Frank, Reanne, 2007. "What to make of it? The (Re)emergence of a biological conceptualization of race in health disparities research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 1977-1983, May.
    4. Bastos, Joao Luiz & Celeste, Roger Keller & Faerstein, Eduardo & Barros, Aluisio J.D., 2010. "Racial discrimination and health: A systematic review of scales with a focus on their psychometric properties," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1091-1099, April.
    5. Braun, Lundy & Wentz, Anna & Baker, Reuben & Richardson, Ellen & Tsai, Jennifer, 2021. "Racialized algorithms for kidney function: Erasing social experience," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).

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