CDC: Continued Disparities Seen in U.S. Health

By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: January 16, 2011
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine,
University of California, San Francisco and
Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner
 
Health disparities among Americans continue to persist -- with higher death rates reported for babies born to black women, and poor people suffering a greater rate of illness compared with other groups -- according to a report from the CDC.
 
Among other findings, the 116-page report published in the Morbidity and Mortality Report, found that African-American babies were up to three times more likely to die in infancy than those born to members of other racial or ethnic groups, and people in lower income brackets had fewer healthy days. In addition, death rates from car crashes were twice as high for American Indians and Alaska natives compared with other groups.

In a foreword to the report, CDC director Thomas Frieden, MD, said that, despite some progress, remaining health disparities are "both unacceptable and correctable."

Many of the CDC's findings are not that new or surprising.

For instance, blacks were hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with a 2008 prevalence of 73.7 cases per 100,000 population -- markedly higher than the 8.2 per 100,000 among whites. While the prevalence of HIV/AIDS has been steady or falling in most other ethnic and racial groups, it has been increasing among blacks -- the 2005 prevalence was 68.2 per 100,000, the researchers reported.

Binge drinking -- having five drinks at once for men and four for women -- was relatively common, mainly among the affluent and well educated, the CDC report found.

The prevalence of binge drinking rose with income and was highest among people with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. On the other hand, those in the highest income group tended to have fewer episodes of binge drinking and to drink less heavily during a single episode than those with lower incomes, the CDC reported.

Among other findings reported in the Jan. 14 MMWR:

• People in lower income brackets reported fewer average healthy days and residents of states with larger inequalities in reported number of healthy days also report fewer healthy days on average.

• Babies born to black women are between 1.5 and 3.0 times more likely to die in infancy than those born to women of other races and ethnic groups.

• Men are two to three times as likely to die in motor vehicle accidents than are women, but death rates are twice as high among American Indians and Alaska Natives -- about 43 per 100,000, compared with 23 for blacks and 21 for whites and Hispanics.

• Men are also about four times more likely to commit suicide than females -- 18.4 per 100,000 for men versus 4.8 for women.

• American Indians and Alaska Natives account for only about 1% of the total suicides and non-Hispanic whites for 18.5%, but the rate among the former is 14.6 per 100,000, comparable to the 14.4 per 100,000 among whites.

• Except for Hispanics, the rate of drug-induced deaths increased between 2003 and 2007 in all racial and ethnic groups, with the highest rate -- 15.6 per 100,000 population -- now being among non-Hispanic whites. Prescription drugs have overtaken illicit drugs as a cause of mortality.

• Men are much more likely to die from coronary heart disease than women -- at 176.5 per 100,000 versus 103.1. Black men and women are also more likely to die of both heart disease and stroke than are whites.

While wide ethnic, income, age, and gender disparities for homicide rates have been previously reported, the current report said data on individual and socioeconomic risk factors for murders were unavailable for analysis. In addition, the report noted that sufficient data were not available to assess disparities in homicide rates by certain racial/ethnic subgroups, family income, educational attainment, disability status, and sexual orientation.

The report was prepared by the CDC.

Primary source: CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report -- United States, 2011
Source reference:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "CDC health disparities and inequalities report - United States, 2011" MMWR 2011; 60(Suppl):

Source