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"Race", ethnicity and haemoglobin disorders

S M Dyson1

  • 1Department of Health and Continuing Professional Studies, De Montfort University, Scraptoft Campus Leicester, UK.

Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|July 31, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Genetic screening for diseases like sickle cell anaemia and beta-thalassaemia raises concerns about oppressing minority ethnic groups. Understanding "race" as a political construct is crucial to avoid misinterpretations and potential abuses.

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Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Sociology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • New genetic technologies raise concerns about potential oppression of minority ethnic groups.
  • Haemoglobin disorders disproportionately affect minority ethnic groups in the UK, with complex service provision issues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine various conceptions of "race" and their impact on the social analysis of sickle cell anaemia and beta-thalassaemia.
  • To explore the consequences of different racial and ethnic classifications for understanding these genetic disorders.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of different concepts of "race", including biological reductionism, ethnicity, racialized groups, and "new ethnicities".
  • Social analysis of sickle cell anaemia and beta-thalassaemia through the lens of competing racial conceptions.

Main Results:

  • Groups associated with haemoglobin disorders face both social constraints and opportunities for re-interpretation.
  • No single nomenclature unproblematically classifies the phenomenon of race in relation to these disorders.

Conclusions:

  • The concept of "race" as a political construct highlights potential abuses of programmatic or mechanistic definitions.
  • A nuanced understanding of race is essential to avoid misinterpreting the social dimensions of genetic disorders affecting minority populations.

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