Washington University in St. Louis
Surgery/Public Health Sciences
African American men experience a disproportionate burden of prostate cancer (CaP) morbidity and mortality. National screening guidelines advise men to make individualized screening decisions through a process termed informed decision... more
Background-Racial disparities in lung cancer have been well described in the literature, however little is known about the perceptions of lung cancer in the general population and whether these perceptions differ by race.
Methods-We linked data collected on treatment decision making in men diagnosed with prostate cancer from 1996 through 2002 with clinical and sociodemographic factors collected routinely by the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry... more
Studies suggest a protective relationship between Vitamin D and breast cancer risk. Several studies assessed the association of Vitamin D with mammographic breast density, a known and strong breast cancer risk factor. Understanding the... more
Background-Inadequate participant recruitment, which may lead to unrepresentative study samples that threaten a study's validity, is often a major challenge in the conduct of research studies.
Blacks have significantly higher rates of hypertension than whites, and lower circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. There are few data about the effect of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplementation on blood pressure in blacks.... more
Alternatives to individual behavior change methods have been proposed; however, little has been done to investigate how these methods compare. To explore the four methods that quantify change in multiple risk behaviors targeting four... more
BACKGROUND: African-Americans have higher rates of obesity-associated chronic diseases. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) shows an inverse association with obesity status. We investigated whether vitamin D supplementation changes body... more
This feasibility study developed and pilot tested an intervention to: (1) increase knowledge about prostate cancer screening; and (2) promote self-efficacy to participate in the informed decision-making process. African American men are a... more
Breast cancer screening combined with follow-up and treatment reduces breast cancer mortality. However, in the study clinic, only 12 % of eligible women C40 years received a mammogram in the previous year. The objective of this project... more
BACKGROUND: The death rate for prostate cancer (PrCA), the most commonly diagnosed cancer in African-American (AA) men, is twice the rate of European-American (EA) men. AA men in South Carolina have the highest age-adjusted death rate in... more
Biorepository research has substantial societal benefits. This is one of the few studies to focus on male willingness to allow future research use of biospecimens. This study analyzed the future research consent questions from a prostate... more
This study investigates how patients' privacy concerns about research uses of biospecimen and trust in doctors are associated with their preferences for informed consent and need for control over biospecimens in a biobank. Particularly,... more
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and... more
Introduction-Hydrochlorothiazide, an effective antihypertensive medication commonly prescribed to blacks, decreases urinary calcium excretion. Blacks have significantly higher rates of hypertension and lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D.... more
Evidence that obesity is associated with cancer incidence and mortality is compelling. By contrast, the role of obesity in cancer survival is less well understood. There is inconsistent support for the role of obesity in breast cancer... more
Biobanks are essential resources, and participation by individuals from diverse groups is needed. Various models of consent have been proposed for secondary research use of biospecimens, differing in level of donor control and information... more