• Arunabh Talwar, Garcia Joe G N JGN, Halley Tsai, Matthew Moreno, Tim Lahm, Roham T Zamanian, Roberto Machado, Steven M Kawut, Mona Selej, Stephen Mathai, Laura Hoyt D'Anna, Sonu Sahni, Erik J Rodriquez, Richard Channick, Karen Fagan, Michael Gray, Jessica Armstrong, Josanna Rodriguez Lopez, Vinicio de Jesus Perez, and Pulmonary Circulation Assembly.
• Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2017 Oct 15; 196 (8): e32-e47.

BackgroundHealth disparities have a major impact in the quality of life and clinical care received by minorities in the United States. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare cardiopulmonary disorder that affects children and adults and that, if untreated, results in premature death. The impact of health disparities in the diagnosis, treatment, and clinical outcome of patients with PAH has not been systematically investigated.ObjectivesThe specific goals of this research statement were to conduct a critical review of the literature concerning health disparities in PAH, identify major research gaps and prioritize direction for future research.MethodsLiterature searches from multiple reference databases were performed using medical subject headings and text words for pulmonary hypertension and health disparities. Members of the committee discussed the evidence and provided recommendations for future research.ResultsFew studies were found discussing the impact of health disparities in PAH. Using recent research statements focused on health disparities, the group identified six major study topics that would help address the contribution of health disparities to PAH. Representative studies in each topic were discussed and specific recommendations were made by the group concerning the most urgent questions to address in future research studies.ConclusionsAt present, there are few studies that address health disparities in PAH. Given the potential adverse impact of health disparities, we recommend that research efforts be undertaken to address the topics discussed in the document. Awareness of health disparities will likely improve advocacy efforts, public health policy and the quality of care of vulnerable populations with PAH.

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