AMERICAN HEALTH ISSUE

American Health Issue

American Health Issue

Introduction

Measures of health status highlight disparities in the health of African Americans compared with other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. African Americans are more likely to self-report that their health is fair or poor, and a higher occurrence of many health problems is reported among both lowerand higher-income African Americans. Statistics suggest that the situation is more critical for African American men. This entry provides an overview of the health status of African Americans, describes the nature of the health disparities observed, and discusses the factors most frequently associated with disparities in health outcomes.

African or Black Americans are the descendants of any of the black racial groups of Africa. In the United States, this group includes the descendants of African slaves who have lived here for generations, as well as recent immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean, and other countries. African Americans are currently the third largest ethnic group in the United States, with a population of 36.4 million or 12.9% of the total population. Of the total population, on the 2000 U.S. Census, 12.3% reported Black or African American as their only race. The remaining population, or 0.6%, reported this racial classification in combination with one or more races.

Health Disparities

Definitions differ, but in general, the term health disparities refers to differences in a populatio!n's health status that are not based on biology and that are assumed to be related to differences in social status, including education, income, and access to care.

Despite improvements in health care and access, African Americans have mortality rates that are higher than those of whites, and they have the highest rates of morbidity and mortality of any U.S. racial and ethnic group. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of diabetes among African Americans is greater than that found among whites, and heart disease is more than 30% higher.

African Americans tend to have the highest rate of high blood pressure of all groups and tend to develop it younger than others. African Americans have higher rates of diabetes-related complications, such as kidney disease and amputations. Furthermore, the incidence of stroke is disproportionately high among African Americans and the mortality rate is higher than among whites. Age-adjusted death rates from asthma are higher among African Americans. African Americans and Hispanics have higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases than whites.

The poorer health status of African American men is well documented. Watkins indicated that African American men have a lower life expectancy than men in Bangladesh, Iran, Colombia, and Sri Lanka. African American men have a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes, are more likely to die from heart disease, have eight times the AIDS rate, and are nine times more likely to die of AIDS than white males. According to Ward et al., among all racial and ethnic groups, African American men had the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates for all sites combined. African American men had higher incidence and mortality rates for ...