Chronic disease has a disproportionate impact on minority populations (e.g., racial and ethnic minorities, women) in the United States.

For example, although African-American and Hispanic persons represent 21 percent of the country's population, more than half of reported AIDS cases have been among these minority populations. Among children, the contrasts are even more dramatic, with African-American and Hispanic children representing 84 percent of pediatric AIDS cases.

Consider these statistics in other health areas:

• The leading causes of death and disability (such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS) are dramatically higher among racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States; rates of death from stroke are 60 percent higher among African Americans than among whites.
• The prevalence of diabetes among African Americans is about 70% higher than among whites, and the prevalence among Hispanics is nearly double that for whites.
• Infant mortality rates are twice as high for African Americans as for whites, chiefly because of low birthweight and prematurity from preterm delivery.
• More than half of all deaths from cardiovascular disease each year occur among women.