[Editor’s note: This piece originally appeared as a letter to the editor in response to the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) position statement “A Roadmap to Neurologic Health Equity.” That article is available here.]
It is the opinion of this reader that the AAN’s Roadmap to Neurologic Health Equity takes a one-way view of evidence to advance an agenda that extends beyond neurology, resembling an advocacy group more than a medical society rooted in science and patient care.
The paper, for instance, claims that Black men are “least likely to receive treatment” for headaches. It argues this by citing Burch et al., which reports prevalence—not treatment—data.
Further, Charleston and Burke found “no major racial/ethnic differences in abortive or prophylactic treatment” for migraines in the US ambulatory care setting.
Similarly, for Parkinson disease, the roadmap attributes disparities to “structural barriers,” without engaging other potential contributors. Yet one study cited noted that Black participants may underreport this ailment because they misconstrue parkinsonian symptoms for normal aging. Another offered that lower utilization of deep brain stimulation may, in part, reflect “a clinically appropriate difference.”
Read the full piece in Neurology.
