Smoking May Put African Americans At Higher Risk For Kidney Damage

Cigarette smoking — a universal health hazard — may particularly damage kidney function in African-Americans, according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Cardiovascular and kidney diseases are closely linked, but few people are aware of the impact of smoking on kidney function,” said Michael Hall, M.D., study lead author and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

Researchers determined rates of decline in kidney function in 3,648 African-Americans in the Jackson Heart Study, which examines cardiovascular disease in African-Americans ages 21-84 in the Jackson, Mississippi, area. Participants completed three questionnaires over 12 years.

After adjusting for factors such as age, gender, physical activity, diabetes, hypertension and prevalent cardiovascular disease, researchers found:

• Kidney function declined 83 percent higher in smokers compared to those who had never smoked.
• The rate of kidney decline worsened with more smoking: those who smoked up to 19 cigarettes daily had 75 percent greater decline in kidney function and those who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day had a 97 percent greater decline in kidney function.
• Smokers had 38 percent higher inflammation levels compared to non-smokers.

“It’s important for those who have risk factors for kidney disease to realize that smoking is a significant risk factor and could ultimately end up leading to dialysis,” Hall said. “And once you have kidney disease, it exacerbates the risk of cardiovascular diseases.”

African-Americans are disproportionately affected by chronic kidney disease because of higher rates of hypertension, obesity and diabetes, and may be more susceptible to adverse effects of smoking to the kidneys. Yet little data exist examining the effects of smoking and kidney disease among African-Americans.

While blacks are less likely than whites to smoke, their metabolism of substances in cigarettes also differs compared with other ethnic groups.

Menthol-flavored cigarettes — popular among many African-American smokers — has been associated with increased concentrations of blood cadmium, a toxic metal used in protective coatings. Exposure to low levels of the metal has also been linked to kidney damage.

“We should be aggressive with screening patients who have risk factors for kidney disease by finding out if they smoke and, if so, encourage them to quit or cut back as much as possible if they can’t quit,” Hall said. “There does seem to be a dose-dependent effect, meaning patients who smoke more are at higher risk for having worsening kidney injury over time.”

May 26, 2016

By American Heart Association News

How do you un-stereotype black republicans

I myself am a unabashed Democrats, but I do have friends and family (don'y worry I wont name you) who are republicans. Many don't fit the stereotypical self hating, docker wearing, black bashing stereotype that many African Americans have of black republicans. As a matter of fact you wouldn't know what their political affiliation was unless they told you. That's why I found this CNN story interesting. I hope you do too. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

Once heralded as members of "The Party of Lincoln," black Republicans today are labeled everything from "confused" to "sellouts" to "Uncle Tom." How do you un-stereotype black Republicans? CNNMoney's Tanzina Vega investigates. Check out her story below.

Ferguson city attorney resigns

Ferguson's city attorney has resigned from her post.

Stephanie Karr sent her letter of resignation to the city on Monday. She had served as Ferguson's city attorney since 2004 — and until recently was also the city's prosecutor.

Karr faced criticism for how she prosecuted people who were arrested during protests over Michael Brown's shooting death. Since Brown's death, Ferguson's city manager, police chief and municipal judge have all resigned — and been replaced.

A 2015 U.S. Department of Justice report highlighted issues around Karr's employment, finding that her additional work as a city prosecutor was a conflict.

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Kentucky judge rules Louisville can remove Confederate monument

The city of Louisville, Kentucky can remove a 121-year-old monument to Confederate soldiers that critics have objected to as an emblem of slavery, a state judge ruled on Wednesday.

In a ruling from the bench, Jefferson Circuit Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman dissolved her temporary order from three weeks ago that had blocked the city and a local university from taking down the monument.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said he would work on relocating the 70-foot-high monument after getting the judge's written order, according to a statement from his office.

Some local residents and descendants of Confederate soldiers sued to keep the monument at its location near the University of Louisville, calling it a symbol of the South's history and culture.

Mayor Fischer and University of Louisville President James Ramsey said in April they would move the monument commemorating Kentuckians who died serving the Confederacy, the slave states that declared their secession from the United States, leading to the American Civil War in the 1860s.

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Police Officers Sue Marilyn Mosby For Defamation

Two of the Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray are suing State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Sgt. Alicia White and Officer William Porter filed a lawsuit against Mosby, Baltimore Sheriff’s Office Maj. Sam Cogen and the state of Maryland in Baltimore circuit court for defamation and invasion of privacy, according to a report by the Baltimore Sun.

The suit goes back to statements made by Mosby at a May 1, 2015 news conference, which White and Porter claim that the city’s top prosecutor knew “were false,” according to the Sun.

“These among other statements were made not for the purpose of prosecuting crimes that had allegedly been committed by White and Porter, but rather for purposes of quelling the riots in Baltimore,” the suit asserts.

Read more: Police Officers Sue Baltimore’s Top Prosecutor for Defamation Over Freddie Gray Statements