If you are asked to specify the “breed” for a medical check

Imagine you are in a well-known cardiology center to carry out a rather common test: a “cardiovascular exercise test on the bicycle ergometer”. Nothing dangerous, unlike what, once finished, you found yourself in your hands, written on a sheet of paper.

This is what happened to Nicola, a 71-year-old man who found himself among the various introductory fields to be filled in (patient’s name, date of birth, age and sex) on the report bearing his “stress test report” to read that of “race”, empty, unlike the others suitably filled.

Now, since the concept of race has been outdated for some time, not only as it is conceptually wrong but also because it is considered highly discriminatory, and therefore replaceable with the word “ethnicity”, it might seem absurd that a person’s personal details are required what race it belongs to. This is actually not quite the case from a medical standpoint, though an update of the lexicon is certainly necessary.

“Except that the term race makes no sense in the human species, however there are differences according to ethnicity in the so-called” predicted “, that is, in the values ​​considered on average normal in a person of a certain age, sex, weight, height and, precisely, ethnic group “.

To speak is the doctor Francesco Terrasi, cardiologist executive at the San Pancrazio rehabilitation clinic in Arco (TN), specialist in respiratory physiopathology.

Where are these differences most noticeable?
«In spirometries this is quite evident, less in the stress test, but in the cardio-respiratory stress test it has its own importance. This mainly depends on the anatomical differences existing, on average, between different populations. The report he reports is linked to the fact that, out of any racist will, I hope, the term “ethnic group” has always been translated as “race” ».

So does it make sense for you to specify a person’s ethnicity on a medical report?
“Yes, actually if you think about it it is also normal that there are differences between a Saomian and a pygmy, but they are not two different races: they are populations with different phenotypic genetic characteristics”.

And a practical example?
“In the use of drugs. Although rare, there are differences because some populations are carriers of some genes (for example favism) which make them incompatible with some drugs ».

So, in short, the intention is good and necessary, much less the form …
«As small as this thing may seem, it is one of the many indicators of backwardness that we still have. The term “race” is non-existent in the human species, it should just be abolished. Words are important as Moretti said and are the definition of what we think “.

Is there hope for a lexical change also in the medical field?
“I can tell you that the last spirometer they bought me, where I worked before, reported the term ‘ethnic group'”.