Effects of Race Are Rarely Included in Clinical Prediction Models for Cardiovascular Disease

Excerpt

Racial/ethnic status is frequently a strong predictor of clinical outcomes for an array of conditions, including cardiovascular disease (CVD).1 Several popular clinical prediction models (CPMs) that help guide common medical decisions, such as equations for 10-year atherosclerotic CVD risk, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and pulmonary function, include terms for race. Nevertheless, the use of racial classifications in medicine and biomedical research has been contested based on evidence that there are few biological or genetic differences between races and concern that encoding racial/ethnic differences may reinforce discrimination, racism, and health disparities. To date, there has been no systematic evaluation of the role of race and ethnicity in CPMs. Our objective was to conduct a field synopsis of the role of race/ethnicity in a registry of CVD-related CPMs. …