Minority Health: Addressing Disparities Among the Disproportionately AffectedChronic
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.