African American Health Disparities Compared to Non-Hispanic Whites
01.17.2019
Racial and ethnic health disparities undermine our communities and our health care system. Our infographic shows some of the more prevalent health disparities that afflict African Americans in the United States (compared to non-Hispanic whites). See our infographic series for data about other communities of color.
Full Sources
African American Adults: Endnotes for Each Health Issue (starting with depression and moving clockwise around the figure, ending with asthma)
Depression: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, National Healthcare Disparities Report 2012 (Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, May 2013), table 2_7_1_1.2a.
Stroke: Sherry L. Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, Deaths: Final Data for 2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2013), table 16.
Heart Disease: Sherry L. Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, Deaths: Final Data for 2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2013), table 16.
Obesity: Jeannine S. Schiller, Jacqueline W. Lucas, and Jennifer A. Peregoy, Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2011 (Atlanta: CDC, 2012), table 31.
Maternal Mortality: Jiaquan Xu, Kenneth D. Kochanek, Sherry L. Murphy, and Betzaida Tejada-Vera, Deaths: Final Data for 2007 (Atlanta: CDC, 2010).
Diabetes (incidence): Jeannine S. Schiller, Jacqueline W. Lucas, and Jennifer A. Peregoy, Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2011 (Atlanta: CDC, 2012).
Diabetes (amputation rates): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Age-Adjusted Hospital Discharge Rates for Nontraumatic Lower Extremity Amputation per 1,000 Diabetic Population, by Race, United States, 1988-2009(Atlanta: CDC, 2012).
HIV (diagnoses): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV Surveillance Report: Diagnoses of HIV Infection in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2011 (Atlanta: CDC, February 2013), table 1a.
HIV (deaths): Sherry L. Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, Deaths: Final Data for 2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2013), table 16.
Prostate Cancer: Sherry L. Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, Deaths: Final Data for 2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2013), table 16.
Cervical Cancer: Sherry L. Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, Deaths: Final Data for 2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2013), table 16.
Breast Cancer: Sherry L. Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, Deaths: Final Data for 2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2013), table 16.
Asthma: Sherry L. Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, Deaths: Final Data for 2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2013), table 15.
African American Children: Endnotes for Each Health Issue (from left to right):
Infant Mortality: T.J. Matthews and Marian F. MacDorman, Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2009 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set (Atlanta: CDC, 2013), table b.
SIDS: Sherry L. Murphy, Jiaquan Xu, and Kenneth D. Kochanek, Deaths: Final Data for 2010 (Atlanta: CDC), table 21.
Asthma (incidence): Jeanne E. Moorman, Lara J. Akinbami, Cathy M. Bailey, et al., National Surveillance of Asthma: United States, 2001-2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2012), table 2.
Asthma (deaths): Jeanne E. Moorman, Lara J. Akinbami, Cathy M. Bailey, et al., National Surveillance of Asthma: United States, 2001-2010 (Atlanta: CDC, 2012), table 21.
Childhood Obesity: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2013 (Washington: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2013), page 65.
High School Student Suicide Attempts: Danice K. Eaton et al., Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance – United States 2011 (Atlanta: CDC, 2012).
related content
