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Multiracial Populations

Floral Runner, 1880 from the Smithsonian Institute http://www.smithsonian.org/copyright/

Multiracial Americans are those people who belong to two or more of the federally designated racial categories.1  According to the 2000 U.S. Census, approximately 6.8 million Americans -- 2.4 percent of the total U.S. population -- self-identify with two or more racial categories the Census Bureau has not made any projections about the rate of growth of Multiracial Americans in the coming decades.  The highest concentrations of Multiracial Americans live in Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Washington.2

Census 2000 was the first U.S. census which allowed individuals to self-identify with more than one racial and ethnic category.  It is very difficult to make generalizations about which health conditions are most prevalent among Multiracial Americans, as there is little research about this group.  In the coming years, as more data is collected, a clearer picture of the health status of Multiracial Americans will emerge.

For more details about Multiracial populations, see US Census 2000 Brief: The Two or More Races (Multiracial) Population.

Ten Leading Causes of death in the U.S. in 2001 for all Americans (all races and ethnicities):

  1. Heart disease
  2. Cancer
  3. Stroke
  4. Chronic lower respiratory disease
  5. Unintentional injuries
  6. Diabetes
  7. Influenza and Pneumonia
  8. Alzheimer's disease
  9. Nephritis, Nephrotic syndrome, and Nephrosis
  10. Septicemia

Source: Health, U.S., 2003, Table 31.

For more information about these topics see the following links:
  National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
  National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP)
  National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
  National Immunization Program (NIP)
  National Cancer Institute (NCI)
  National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  American Cancer Society (ACS)
  American Diabetes Association (ADA)
  American Heart Association (AHA)
  American Lung Association (ALA)
  National SIDS Resource Center (NSRC)

Other Resources:

  Culturally Specific Mental Health Resources for Multiracial Americans
  Association of MultiEthnic Americans (AMEA)
  Institute for MultiRacial Justice
  Multiracial Family Circle
  International Interracial Association


Funding:

  CDC Funding Opportunities


Sources:

  1 Census Bureau, Census 2000 Brief: Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000.
  2 Census Bureau, Census 2000.

Notes:

  Census 2000 adheres to the federal standards for collecting and presenting data on race and Hispanic origin as established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in October 1997 and subsequent guidelines.  One of the most important changes for Census 2000 was the revision of the questions on race and Hispanic origin to better reflect the country’s growing diversity. The federal government considers race and Hispanic origin to be two separate and distinct concepts. In addition, Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders are counted as two separate and distinct racial groups. Because of these changes, the Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from the 1990 census or earlier censuses. Caution must be used when interpreting changes in the racial composition of the U.S. population over time.
  Census Bureau Glossary of Terms: Race, 2000.
  Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Provisional Guidance on the Implementation of the 1997 Standards for Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, 2000.
  Office of Management and Budget Recommendations from the Interagency Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards to the Office of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, 1997.


 

 

Racial & Ethnic Populations
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Last Updated on November 03, 2004
Office of Minority Health

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