How Racism Might Be Accelerating Aging and Menopause

Discrimination may be speeding up the aging process for people of
color and other minoritized groups. Research is revealing that
structural and interpersonal racism could be key factors in why
these communities often age faster and face age-related diseases
sooner. Alexis Reeves, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford
University, studies how racism affects aging, with a focus on early
menopause. In a conversation with Science Quickly host Rachel
Feltman, Reeves discusses how traditional research methods might be
overlooking these critical disparities. This episode is part of
“Health Equity Heroes,” an editorially independent special project
that was produced with financial support from Takeda
Pharmaceuticals. Recommended reading: Discrimination May Hasten
Menopause in Black and Hispanic Women How Racism in Early Life Can
Affect Long-Term Health “Systematic Exclusion at Study Commencement
Masks Earlier Menopause for Black Women in the Study of Women’s
Health across the Nation (SWAN),” by Alexis Reeves et al., in
International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 52, No. 5; October
2023  “Study Selection Bias and Racial or Ethnic Disparities
in Estimated Age at Onset of Cardiometabolic Disease among Midlife
Women in the US,” by Alexis Reeves et al, in JAMA Network Open,
Vol. 5, No. 1, Article No. e2240665. Published online November 7,
2022  Email us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any
questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover
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