The Administration's Reality Gap on Health Disparities
Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at 04:26PM
TheSpook
Minorities are more sick and die younger than whites
The health and health care problems facing minority
Americans are shocking. Communities of color are disproportionately
represented among the ranks of the uninsured, which included 45 million
Americans in 2003. With or without insurance, minorities have reduced
access to quality, affordable health care. They experience higher rates
of morbidity and mortality from diseases such as diabetes, cancer,
cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, asthma, obesity, and end-stage renal
disease. For example, African-American men have the lowest life
expectancy of all Americans (68.6 years compared to 75.0 years for
white men), HIV/AIDS is the third leading cause of death for Hispanic
men, and although African-American women experience lower rates of
breast cancer incidence than white women do, they are more likely to
die from the disease. These disparities in health status mean that
racial and ethnic minorities are living sicker and dying younger.[more ]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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