Black Americans are less likely to receive transplants when diagnosed with liver disease, according to a new study.
Released in the scientific journal JAMA Network, the study was conducted by a cohort of researchers from Indiana University. In their cross-sectional study, the researchers examined the data of over 700,000 patients submitted in the National Inpatient Sample with cirrhosis, the medical term for chronic liver damage.
Amongst these patients who had a median age of 58, approximately 10% were Black, 18% were Hispanic and 48% were white.
In their findings, the researchers reported that, although Black women specifically were more likely to be hospitalized due to the condition, Black and Hispanic patients had lower rates of getting a liver transplant
They also had lower rates of getting transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts, a procedure that substitutes the space between two blood vessels in the liver.
Over the course of 2009 to 2018, Black patients were only two-thirds as likely as white patients to get a liver transplant. Meanwhile, Hispanic patients were three-quarters as likely to get care for liver disease when compared to white patients.
In their conclusion, the researchers emphasized the need for change.
“There were persistent racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of more complicated inpatient procedures,” said the researchers. “While these procedures are more complex and higher risk, they are also lifesaving for patients with decompensated cirrhosis.”
“Targeted efforts will be required to ensure that another decade does not pass without improved equity in these lifesaving procedures,” they added.
Overall, Black patients are among the racial and ethnic groups that are diagnosed with fatal cirrhosis the most.
According to a 2021 Northwestern study, Black patients with late-stage liver disease were found to be 25% more likely to pass away when compared to white patients. They were also found to be four times less likely to receive a liver transplant.
In an official release, the authors of the study emphasized the importance of creating solutions for racial disparities, suggesting the usage of targeted interventions to provide more healthcare access to Black Americans.
“We must recognize that health equity is not attainable for everyone if we treat them the same, because different groups face different barriers,” said co-lead author of the study and transplant surgeon, Dr. Dinee Simpson, per Northwestern Now. “We must research the barriers our Black patients face and be willing to address them with creative solutions. This must happen at the institutional level and the structural level for better health to be realized in this community.”
