Should doctors consider race in diagnosing?

The Christian Science monitor has a good discussion on how race and ethnicity affects disease and medical treatment.

Many in the field are calling for broader international studies to make sure the bigger picture emerges. Studies comparing white and black Americans, for example, have shown that blacks have higher rates of hypertension, suggesting a genetic difference. But earlier this year research by Dr. Cooper and a team at Loyola showed that although African-Americans do show higher levels than North American whites, whites have higher levels than Nigerians and Jamaicans, who are "ethnically" black. Overall, the range of levels of hypertension among blacks in the study ranged from 14 to 44 percent while in whites it was higher, 27 to 55 percent.

hello: In Africa, those eating a low salt diet don't develop hypertension. Yet high blood pressure is common among "educated" africans. So even in Africa, there are differences. And high blood pressure is a major killer in Japan and the Philippines: Soy sauce or patis, anyone?

However, it might lead to difference in treatment.
For example, most hypertension in american Indians is due to Diabetes, so we use an ACE inhibitor as first line treatment. For Blacks, a diuretic might be a better choice.

And even in Africa, there are diffences. I saw more sickle cell anemia in the US than I ever did in Africa, because I worked in the "high veldt", where malaria was rare...

Dr. Livingstone, call your office.