Black Americans facing an aggressive blood cancer known as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are being diagnosed younger and dying more often than white patients, even when they receive intensive chemotherapy in clinical trials designed to offer cutting-edge care. Compared with white patients, Black patients were on average more than five years younger at diagnosis and more than 30 percent more likely to die of their disease, according to a new analysis led by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers. Over a 34-year period, Black patients were also more than 20 percent more likely to die of any cause. Study…
Author: Disparity Matters
Gun violence continues to carve deep and unequal scars across American communities, with Black families bearing a disproportionate share of the harm. In a commentary published by AFRO American Newspapers, Renée Hall, former Dallas police chief and president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, argues that the nation’s failure to confront gun violence as a true public health priority is costing lives, particularly in communities of color.Hall describes repeated scenes of grief in neighborhoods rocked by shootings, where children learn to distinguish gunshots from fireworks “before they can spell their own names.” She writes that gun violence…
A new national analysis of mortality data reveals that Americans living with both stroke and diabetes continue to face sharply unequal health outcomes, with the steepest burdens falling on older adults, rural residents, and non-Hispanic Black communities. The study reports that the age‑adjusted mortality rate for people with both conditions declined from 16.47 to 9.70 per 100,000 between 1999 and 2023, yet the pace of improvement was “slower among individuals aged ≥85 years, non-Hispanic Black populations, and non-metropolitan area residents.”Racial disparities were especially pronounced. Non-Hispanic Black adults had the highest mortality rate in 1999 at 33.42 per 100,000 and still…
Racial and ethnic health disparities remain deeply entrenched in the United States, with people of color consistently faring worse than White Americans across most health measures, according to a comprehensive analysis of 64 health indicators. Hispanic, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) populations experience significantly higher uninsured rates, with 18% and 19% respectively lacking coverage compared to just 7% of White people under age 65. These coverage gaps translate directly into reduced access to care, as Hispanic and AIAN adults are more than twice as likely as White adults to lack a personal healthcare provider. The consequences prove…
Black and American Indian/Alaska Native populations face the highest cancer death rates in the United States, according to a comprehensive new report examining cancer disparities from 2019 through 2023. The analysis reveals that differences in cancer mortality are substantially larger by education level than by race alone, indicating socioeconomic status plays a major role in driving racial disparities. The gap is striking: overall cancer mortality rates were 143% to 192% higher among males with 12 years or less of education compared to those with 16 or more years of education. Among females, the difference ranged from 71% to 140%. Even…
Finds substantial racial and ethnic health disparities across the entire cancer continuum” in the U.S. See: A short summary of the Report and a free pdf of the Report.
Cancer remains a stark mirror of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States, and the latest biennial report from the American Cancer Society shows those gaps are not closing fast enough. The authors describe “substantial disparities across the cancer continuum,” from risk factors and screening to survival and death, by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and place of residence.Black and American Indian/Alaska Native communities bear the heaviest burden. During 2019–2023, Black and AIAN men and women had the highest cancer mortality rates overall and for the leading causes of cancer death. Black women experienced 10% higher overall cancer mortality than…
Cancer is not an equal-opportunity killer in the United States, and new research from the American Cancer Society (ACS) lays bare how deeply race, place, and poverty shape who dies. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) people “continue to bear a substantially higher burden of cancer deaths, overall and from major cancers,” even as advances in prevention and treatment accelerate.The report finds that overall cancer mortality is higher in Black and AIAN men and women than in their White counterparts, with Black women suffering a 10% higher cancer death rate despite a 9% lower overall cancer incidence. Mortality from leading…
Health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities remain a deep-rooted challenge in the United States, with Hispanic, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) people faring worse than White people across most health and health care measures. The uneven impact of the COVID-19 pandemic drew new attention to these inequities, but they have been documented for decades and reflect longstanding structural and systemic inequities rooted in historical and ongoing racism and discrimination. Data from the KFF 2023 Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health show ongoing experiences with racism and discrimination, including in health care settings, which further widen the…
South Carolina’s eviction crisis is exposing a stark racial divide that reaches far beyond housing, reshaping the health and stability of Black mothers and their children. The state ranks among the highest in the nation for evictions, and Black women bear the brunt of that burden. According to the ACLU of South Carolina, Black renters make up “nearly 33% of all eviction filings,” despite representing only about 20% of adult renters. Of the state’s 1.44 million eviction cases, Black women and their families were “twice as likely as white households to face eviction.”For many, the consequences cascade quickly. Unemployment and…