News: Health Disparities

Among African Americans

September 30, 2004

The death rate for African Americans in 2001 was 31 percent higher than Caucasians (Whites).
In 2001, 27 percent of African American deaths were due to heart disease.
Life expectancy is 72.2 years for African Americans, which is lower than the 77.7 years for Caucasians.
African Americans tend to develop cancer twice as often as any other racial/ethnic population in the United States.
More than twice as many African American males die from prostate cancer than any other racial/ethnic group.
More African American women die from breast cancer than any other racial/ethnic group.
The 2001 death rate due to stroke was significantly higher for African Americans (78.8 per 100,000) than for Caucasians (56.0 per 100,000).
More African Americans have high blood pressure than any other racial/ethnic population in the United States.
African American infants die at a rate of 13.3 per 1,000 live births compared to Caucasian infant mortality at 5.7 per 1,000 births, which is more than twice as high.
In 2003, only 49 percent of African American age 65 and older received a flu vaccine and 37 percent received pneumonia vaccine. This vaccination rate is far lower than Caucasians in the same age group, where 70 percent received flu vaccine and 60 percent received pneumonia vaccine.

Source: Closing the Health Gap, Health Disparities Data and Statistics, Office of Minority Health Resource Center, Health and Human Services, Washington, DC