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(LONDON) — Racism and discrimination must be acknowledged as public health threats in the fight to address global health disparities, according to a new study.

As part of the four-paper series published in The Lancet medical journal Thursday, researchers from countries around the world, including the U.S., U.K., Brazil and India, carried out a major review of scientific literature and used data from hundreds of articles in recent years.

The tendency among health professionals has been to explain unequal health outcomes on either genetics or economic conditions, according to the study’s authors. But in order to tackle racial health inequities, racism and discrimination themselves should be classified as public health threats globally, the authors say.

“Racism has always been a public health threat,” Alexandre White, assistant professor of sociology and the history of medicine at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, told ABC News. “It has emerged time and time again, especially over the last 10 to 15 years.”

Research into the intersection of race and health disparities has advanced in recent years, particularly in the U.S. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention almost every two in three pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. A 2020 report found that non-Hispanic Black women experienced a higher pregnancy-related mortality rate — a disparity placing them nearly three times more at risk of dying due to pregnancy-related causes compared to non-Hispanic white women.

The report’s authors also found evidence of disproportionate impact from the pandemic, vaccine inequality and climate change on minority groups.

“This study is tremendously important [as] it sheds light on the fundamental role that racism, xenophobia and forms of discrimination actually play on health, both from a structural level and generational level over time,” White said. “But also fundamentally since the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve seen the ways in which, especially racism and xenophobia, affects who gets sick, how seriously and why.”

The study also reports that racial biases in health care can lead to a stress response — affirming previous studies that found discrimination, whether overt or covert, can lead to chronic stress responses which can affect human neurological and immune systems. That chronic stress response can lead to lower life expectancies and is associated with other health complications such as anxiety, depression and heart disease.

“It’s not only because of racism at the individual interpersonal level,” Dr. Abi Deivanayagam, a public health doctor, researcher, activist and one of the study’s authors, told ABC News. “It’s racism in the way that our society is structured. And that’s very real. And it’s really important that we acknowledge this in a medical journal like The Lancet so that health people recognize that this is something this is our duty of care to patients. And our care really has to go beyond the individual to making sure that our systems are safe for our patients.”

Although discrimination against minority groups comes in different forms around the world according to such factors as race, ethnicity and religion, a pattern of worse health outcomes for minority groups can be seen globally.

According to Deivanayagam, the study has drawn two major conclusions.

“One thing is that there is evidence globally that shows that racism, xenophobia and discrimination affect a range of different health outcomes, and that this is embedded across different levels of society and that it affects people across the course of their lives ranging from COVID-19, to vaccines, to actually getting health care access,” she told ABC News. “The second thing is that we need to get to the root cause of this. And the way we do that as health professionals is to recognize that racism, xenophobia and discrimination are actually a public health threat.”

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(NEW YORK) — Céline Dion’s public announcement that she has a neurological disease is shining a spotlight on the rare condition known as stiff-person syndrome.

In a taped video message shared to her Facebook and Instagram pages on Thursday, the iconic singer, 54, said, “Recently, I have been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the stiff-person syndrome, which affects something like 1 in 1 million people.”

What is stiff-person syndrome?

Dr. Leah Croll, an assistant professor of neurology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, sees and treats patients with neurologic diseases that affect the brain, spinal cord or peripheral nerves, including stiff-person syndrome.

Croll agreed with Dion’s statement that stiff-person syndrome is not common, calling it an “exceptionally rare disease.”

“It occurs only in about one to two people per million,” Croll told ABC News’ Good Morning America.

Who can get stiff-person syndrome?

Croll explained that people between the ages of 20 and 50 tend to be diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, and although rare, it can appear in children and older adults too.

Overall, women are “two to three times” more likely to have stiff-person syndrome than men.

“We think it’s because this disease may have an autoimmune component, and in general, women are higher risk for autoimmune diseases,” Croll said. “But this is theoretical. We’re not totally certain as of yet.”

What are the symptoms of stiff-person syndrome?

In her video, Dion revealed some of the symptoms of stiff-person syndrome she has experienced.

“While we are still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what has been causing all of the spasms I have been having. Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal chords to sing the way I am used to,” she said.

Croll said other symptoms that can indicate someone has stiff-person syndrome include rigidity and stiffness of certain areas of the body causing unsteadiness, slower movements and difficulties walking, something Dion said she has had in addition to difficulties singing.

“Typically, patients will present with stiffness in the muscles of the trunk, neck and back, and also … the shoulders and the hips. In some cases, patients may have the disease that only implicates maybe just one limb, so like just one leg is affected,” Croll said.

“The key here is that this stiffness would be so profound that it impairs someone’s ability to move normally,” Croll added. “And the most common symptom for these patients is going to be difficulties with walking.”

Croll also noted that people with stiff-person symptoms can also develop other conditions like anxiety and phobias as a result of their physical symptoms.

What treatment is available for stiff-person syndrome?

There are treatments to address the symptoms of stiff-person syndrome available but there is currently no cure for the chronic and progressive condition.

“Most patients, as a first line, will be given medications that are meant to help relax the muscles. And in some patients, their doctors may also choose to pursue certain therapies that are meant to modulate the immune system,” Croll said. “It’s important though, to point out that these are therapies that are meant to lessen the severity of symptoms or potentially slow the progression of symptoms, but we don’t have a therapy available that specifically targets this disease.”

As stiff-person syndrome is rare, there has not been sufficient research and Croll said there are currently no major clinic trials for the disease.

Does stiff-person syndrome affect life expectancy?

Doctors do not currently know whether stiff-person syndrome impacts an individual’s life expectancy, according to Croll, who said some patients have lived a few years after diagnosis while others have gone on to live for decades.

The bottom line

Croll cautioned that stiff-person syndrome is not commonly seen in the general population but advised that individuals concerned about symptoms they’re experiencing can start a discussion with their primary care provider who can also provide a referral to a neurologist.

“This is a very rare condition that most people should not worry about. But anyone who is experiencing symptoms in their muscles that are interfering with their ability to move normally would benefit from consultation with a neurologist to work that up,” Croll said.

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(NEW YORK) — Across the country, parents are searching for solutions as demand for pediatric medications surges while over-the-counter medications, and a popularly prescribed antibiotic, are in reported short supply.

Aselyn Schott, a mother from Colorado, said her 5-year-old daughter was prescribed amoxicillin for an ear infection. She said her doctor warned her it would be difficult to find.

“I was just running down the line, ‘Nope, we don’t have it. Nope, we don’t have it,'” Schott told Good Morning America. “And nobody was really giving me a suggestion as to what to do so I just kept calling and calling.”

Oral amoxicillin is the most common antibiotic prescribed in primary care practices and it’s used to treat some bacterial infections in children, such as bacterial ear and lung infections, according to the National Library of Medicine. It does not treat infections due to viruses.

The Food and Drug Administration added amoxicillin, specifically amoxicillin oral powder, to the drug shortage list on Oct. 28, 2022. There is currently no estimate of when supply of the drug will increase.

The FDA’s most recent update on flu antivirals says there isn’t an official shortage of Tamiflu, although “we are aware that there may be localized shortages where demand is especially high.”

In a statement to ABC News, Walgreens said “although demand for pediatric and adult OTC medications have increased, Walgreens is prepared and able to continue meeting the needs of our customers and patients. We are working with our diverse set of suppliers and distributors to ensure our patients have the products they need most.”

CVS said, “We’re currently seeing increased demand for cold, flu and pain relief products. We’re committed to meeting our customers’ needs and are working with our suppliers to ensure continued access to these items. In the event a local store experiences a temporary product shortage, our teams have a process in place to replenish supply.”

Erin Fox, the senior pharmacy director at the University of Utah Health, said very few over-the-counter drugs are truly in shortage, but some drugs many not be in the right place at the right time. She said if you are concerned about getting a prescription medication, ask your doctor for a written prescription instead of submitting it electronically or ask for a different formula or dosage that is less in demand.

“There are substitutes, there are chewable amoxicillin tablets that some children can use. There are also different strengths of liquid,” Fox said to ABC News. “Maybe just go right back to the prescriber and say, ‘Hey, I’m striking out, is there another strength? Or even is there another medicine?'”

For Schott, she said she tried 18 pharmacies before finding one pharmacy that could fill the prescription for her daughter.

“I was relieved just to hear those words, ‘We have it in stock,’ but that pharmacy was about 45 minutes away from me, so I was really nervous because they couldn’t hold it for me,” said Schott. “I was nervous that it was going to run out by the time that I even got there.

“Once I got there and had it in hand. It was just like a big sigh of relief and I actually gave her a dose of medicine right in the car,” she said.

What can worried parents do?

•     Visit different pharmacies and reputable medication retailers: Medications could be found by visiting different pharmacies and reputable medication retailers, by ordering online or in-person.
•     Check back later: Stores can likely resolve the empty shelf problem once they place new orders.
•     Generic alternatives: For over-the-counter drugs, your favorite brand name may not be available, but a generic is a safe alternative (i.e., If the Tylenol brand is not available, use generic acetaminophen).

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