February
2, 2005
|
Vol.
8 No. 2
|
IN A HEALTHIER NATION, DISPARITIES PERSIST,
CDC SAYS
Americans overall
are becoming healthier, but the poor and racial and ethnic minority
groups still
lag behind the rest of the population in
many key indicators of health, according to the Center for Disease Control
and Prevention’s 28th annual report to Congress and the President
on the state of the nation’s health.
Poor people
are more likely than others to say they are in bad health, to use
many types of
health care and to report “severe psychological
distress,” the CDC study concludes. Infant mortality rates
among blacks and American Indians are higher than in whites, and
rates of obesity and diabetes also vary by race. The CDC report also
notes that Latinos and American Indians are more likely to have no
health insurance than other racial and ethnic groups.
In addition,
the risk factors, incidence and even causes of death differ between
racial
and ethnic groups, according to a Jan. 14 study
in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Risk factors
and morbidity rates for the 10 leading causes of death in the United
States are “often greater” among blacks than whites,
the study says. Homicide, HIV and septicemia are among the top 10
causes of death in blacks but not whites.
Compared to
white Americans, black Americans are also less likely to have health
insurance,
be vaccinated against the flu and pneumococcal
disease, receive prenatal care during the first trimester and get
regular exercise, according to the CDC’s Office of Minority
Health.
To read the
two reports, go to (“Health,
United States, 2004”) and
(“Health
Disparities Experienced by Black or African Americans --- United
States”)
