J Natl Med Assoc
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Compared with other racial groups, African-American women show a disproportionately high risk of delivering low birthweight babies. In a retrospective study of African-American infants born at Meharry Hubbard Hospital, which predominantly serves the underprivileged inner-city poor, free amino acid concentrations were measured in umbilical venous serum from infants born following 34 to 42 weeks gestation. ⋯ Glycine, a quantitatively important residue in collagen and a component of reduced glutathione (gamma-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine), which is featured in the gamma-glutamyl amino acid transport cycle, was most consistently and severely affected. This study not only indicated that selective reduction in transplacental amino acid transport may be an important factor in intrauterine growth retardation in African Americans, but also confirmed the dietary necessity of the structurally simple amino acid glycine during pregnancy.
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This article describes a retrospective study that compared the distribution of colorectal tumors among black and white discharges. A total of 188,109 discharges with colorectal cancer were selected from the Hospital Cost and Utilization Project, a national sample of hospitals with 34 million patient discharges from 1980 to 1987. Black/white differences were small for right, left, and rectal tumors; however, black discharges had a higher percentage of colorectal tumors with sites unspecified. ⋯ Black discharges had a higher proportion of unspecified tumors than whites regardless of cancer severity, discharge status, procedure type, age, sex, expected third-party payer, and year. Black/white differences were maintained across hospital characteristics (region, rural/urban location, teaching status, bed size, and ownership). Differences in specification of tumor site may be an indicator of poor continuity of care, poor access, or other quality-related measures.