Assessing racial differences in North American hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia study recruitment and care

There is increasing evidence of health outcome disparities due to inequitable healthcare. These inequities are likely compounded in rare disease care and research. We aimed to identify disparities in access to clinical care and research for patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) in North America.

We collected race data from the Toronto HHT Centre Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium (BVMC) recruits, the UCSF HHT Centre BVMC recruits, and the UCSF HHT Centre clinic patients, and compared proportions to local populations (2016 Canadian Census and 2010 San Francisco Bay Area Census).

At the UCSF HHT center, there was a significant association between race and BVMC enrollment status (p = 0.033). The proportion of White BVMC recruits was significantly higher than reported in the SF Bay Area Census data (p < 0.001). At the Toronto HHT centre the proportion of White BVMC recruits was significantly higher than reported in the Canadian Census provincial data (p < 0.001), and Toronto Metropolitan Area data (p < 0.001).

We report preliminary evidence of racial differences in access to HHT care and research in North America. Our findings indicate a need for race data collection and reporting, as well as identification of barriers and potential solutions in HHT care and research.