Author
Jean G. Ford
Bio: Jean G. Ford is an academic researcher from Brooklyn Hospital Center. The author has contributed to research in topics: Randomized controlled trial & Population. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 6 publications receiving 513 citations.
Papers
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TL;DR: Pre-Columbian genetic substructure is recapitulated in the indigenous ancestry of admixed mestizo individuals across the country, and two independently phenotyped cohorts of Mexicans and Mexican Americans showed a significant association between subcontinental ancestry and lung function.
Abstract: Mexico harbors great cultural and ethnic diversity, yet fine-scale patterns of human genome-wide variation from this region remain largely uncharacterized. We studied genomic variation within Mexico from over 1000 individuals representing 20 indigenous and 11 mestizo populations. We found striking genetic stratification among indigenous populations within Mexico at varying degrees of geographic isolation. Some groups were as differentiated as Europeans are from East Asians. Pre-Columbian genetic substructure is recapitulated in the indigenous ancestry of admixed mestizo individuals across the country. Furthermore, two independently phenotyped cohorts of Mexicans and Mexican Americans showed a significant association between subcontinental ancestry and lung function. Thus, accounting for fine-scale ancestry patterns is critical for medical and population genetic studies within Mexico, in Mexican-descent populations, and likely in many other populations worldwide.
416 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effect of patient navigation on increasing colorectal cancer screening adherence among older African Americans in a community-based randomized controlled trial, and found that patient navigation was associated with increased CRC screening adherence.
Abstract: Purpose
In recent years, colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates have increased steadily in the USA, though racial and ethnic disparities persist. In a community-based randomized controlled trial, we investigated the effect of patient navigation on increasing CRC screening adherence among older African Americans.
59 citations
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TL;DR: The results suggest that patient navigation for mammography screening should focus on women who are not up to date on their screening, and patient navigation among urban African American Medicare beneficiaries increased self-reported mammography utilization.
Abstract: BACKGROUND
There is growing evidence that patient navigation improves breast cancer screening rates; however, there are limited efficacy studies of its effect among African American older adult women
57 citations
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TL;DR: Social context contributes to the understanding of racial disparities in physical inactivity among urban low-income Blacks and Whites living in similar social context.
Abstract: Objective : The objective of the study was to determine whether race disparities in physical inactivity are present among urban low income Blacks and Whites living in similar social context. Design : This analysis included Black and White respondents ( > 18 years) from the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities- Southwest Baltimore (EHDIC-SWB; N =1350) Study and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS; N =67790). Respondents who reported no levels of moderate or vigorous physical activity, during leisure time, over a usual week were considered physically inactive. Results : After controlling for confounders, Blacks had higher adjusted odds of physical inactivity compared to Whites in the national sample (odds ratio [OR]=1.40; 95%confidence interval [CI] =1.30–1.51). In EHDIC-SWB, Blacks and Whites had a similar odds of physical inactivity (OR=1.09; 95% CI .86–1.40). Conclusion : Social context contributes to our understanding of racial disparities in physical inactivity. ( Ethn Dis. 2014;24[3]:363–369)
38 citations
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TL;DR: Rates of prostate cancer screening among African American men vary by level of educational attainment; beliefs concerning cancer fatalism help explain this gradient.
Abstract: We examined the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) cancer screening among older African American men. We analyzed baseline data from a sample of 485 community-dwelling African American men who participated in the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Demonstration Trial. The outcome was receipt of PSA screening within the past year. SES was measured using income and educational attainment. Sequential multivariate logistic regression models were performed to study whether health care access, patient–provider relationship, and cancer fatalism mediated the relationship between SES and PSA screening. Higher educational attainment was significantly associated with higher odds of PSA screening in the past year (odds ratio (OR) 2.08 for college graduate compared to less than high school graduate, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.03–4.24); income was not. Health care access and patient–provider communication did not alter the relationship between education and screening; however, beliefs regarding cancer fatalism partially mediated the observed relationship. Rates of prostate cancer screening among African American men vary by level of educational attainment; beliefs concerning cancer fatalism help explain this gradient. Understanding the determinants of cancer fatalism is a critical next step in building interventions that seek to ensure equitable access to prostate cancer screening.
9 citations
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TL;DR: It is demonstrated that scores inferred from European GWASs are biased by genetic drift in other populations even when choosing the same causal variants and that biases in any direction are possible and unpredictable.
Abstract: The vast majority of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are performed in Europeans, and their transferability to other populations is dependent on many factors (e.g., linkage disequilibrium, allele frequencies, genetic architecture). As medical genomics studies become increasingly large and diverse, gaining insights into population history and consequently the transferability of disease risk measurement is critical. Here, we disentangle recent population history in the widely used 1000 Genomes Project reference panel, with an emphasis on populations underrepresented in medical studies. To examine the transferability of single-ancestry GWASs, we used published summary statistics to calculate polygenic risk scores for eight well-studied phenotypes. We identify directional inconsistencies in all scores; for example, height is predicted to decrease with genetic distance from Europeans, despite robust anthropological evidence that West Africans are as tall as Europeans on average. To gain deeper quantitative insights into GWAS transferability, we developed a complex trait coalescent-based simulation framework considering effects of polygenicity, causal allele frequency divergence, and heritability. As expected, correlations between true and inferred risk are typically highest in the population from which summary statistics were derived. We demonstrate that scores inferred from European GWASs are biased by genetic drift in other populations even when choosing the same causal variants and that biases in any direction are possible and unpredictable. This work cautions that summarizing findings from large-scale GWASs may have limited portability to other populations using standard approaches and highlights the need for generalized risk prediction methods and the inclusion of more diverse individuals in medical genomics.
1,073 citations
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TL;DR: This document updates the colorectal cancer screening recommendations of the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force of Colorectals and suggests that the Septin9 serum assay (Epigenomics, Seattle, Wash) not be used for screening.
522 citations
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TL;DR: The authors studied the genetic ancestry of 5,269 self-described African Americans, 8,663 Latinos, and 148,789 European Americans who are 23andMe customers and showed that the legacy of these historical interactions is visible in the genetic lineage of present-day Americans.
Abstract: Over the past 500 years, North America has been the site of ongoing mixing of Native Americans, European settlers, and Africans (brought largely by the trans-Atlantic slave trade), shaping the early history of what became the United States. We studied the genetic ancestry of 5,269 self-described African Americans, 8,663 Latinos, and 148,789 European Americans who are 23andMe customers and show that the legacy of these historical interactions is visible in the genetic ancestry of present-day Americans. We document pervasive mixed ancestry and asymmetrical male and female ancestry contributions in all groups studied. We show that regional ancestry differences reflect historical events, such as early Spanish colonization, waves of immigration from many regions of Europe, and forced relocation of Native Americans within the US. This study sheds light on the fine-scale differences in ancestry within and across the United States and informs our understanding of the relationship between racial and ethnic identities and genetic ancestry.
484 citations
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University of Copenhagen1, University of Massachusetts Amherst2, University of California, Berkeley3, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute4, Technical University of Denmark5, Pennsylvania State University6, La Trobe University7, Stanford University8, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology9, University of Cambridge10, Estonian Biocentre11, University of Tartu12, University of California, San Francisco13, Washington State University14, University of Porto15, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign16, Carlos III Health Institute17, University of Utah18, Science for Life Laboratory19, Aarhus University20, University College London21, University of Reading22, University of Bristol23, University of Guadalajara24, University of Bologna25, Oregon State University26, University of Paris27, University of Zurich28, St. John's University29, Max Planck Society30, University of California, Irvine31, University of Tarapacá32, University of Toulouse33, Novosibirsk State University34, Russian Academy of Sciences35, Kemerovo State University36, Bashkir State University37, North-Eastern Federal University38, Western Washington University39, Northwest Community College40, University of Western Ontario41, Simon Fraser University42, Laboratory of Molecular Biology43, University of Kansas44, University of California, Davis45, Texas A&M University46, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History47, Southern Methodist University48
TL;DR: The results suggest that there has been gene flow between some Native Americans from both North and South America and groups related to East Asians and Australo-Melanesians, the latter possibly through an East Asian route that might have included ancestors of modern Aleutian Islanders.
Abstract: How and when the Americas were populated remains contentious. Using ancient and modern genome-wide data, we found that the ancestors of all present-day Native Americans, including Athabascans and Amerindians, entered the Americas as a single migration wave from Siberia no earlier than 23 thousand years ago (ka) and after no more than an 8000-year isolation period in Beringia. After their arrival to the Americas, ancestral Native Americans diversified into two basal genetic branches around 13 ka, one that is now dispersed across North and South America and the other restricted to North America. Subsequent gene flow resulted in some Native Americans sharing ancestry with present-day East Asians (including Siberians) and, more distantly, Australo-Melanesians. Putative "Paleoamerican" relict populations, including the historical Mexican Pericues and South American Fuego-Patagonians, are not directly related to modern Australo-Melanesians as suggested by the Paleoamerican Model.
459 citations
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TL;DR: This document updates the colorectal cancer screening recommendations of the MSTF and suggests that the Septin9 serum assay (Epigenomics, Seattle, Wash) not be used for screening.
427 citations