While youth suicide has drawn national attention, older white men remain the most at-risk group—yet their crisis is often overlooked. CDC data show that men aged 75 and older have the highest suicide rates in the country, with 38.2 deaths per 100,000 among those 75–84 and 55.7 among those over 85. Among these, white men are disproportionately affected.Silvia Canetto, a psychology professor at Colorado State University, notes that suicide is especially high among men of European descent. These men often don’t face severe social or health challenges, but they do share traits like emotional stoicism, narrow self-identity, and reluctance to…
Author: Disparity Matters
Postpartum depression is rising across the U.S., but for Black women, the crisis is deepening. Since 2010, the rate of postpartum depression among Black mothers has nearly tripled, reaching almost 25% by 2021. Yet, they remain 46% less likely to be screened and far less likely to receive treatment compared to white women.Kay Matthews knows this disparity firsthand. After the stillbirth of her daughter in 2013, she was released from the hospital with no support, no follow-up, and no acknowledgment of her trauma. “I got no pamphlets, no follow-up information, nothing,” she said. Her grief spiraled into postpartum depression, but…
Hispanic patients with serious illnesses face significant barriers in accessing palliative care, according to a new analysis from the Center to Advance Palliative Care. With Latinos projected to represent nearly one in four Americans by 2035, gaps in culturally responsive care are poised to affect millions.Language is a major obstacle. Forty-four percent of Hispanic patients report communication problems due to language and cultural differences, which can worsen health outcomes. Families often find themselves forced into roles they are unprepared for—such as children translating complex medical information for gravely ill relatives. Even when translation services exist, they are frequently limited to…
Extremely severe obesity in children has surged by 253% over the past 15 years, with the steepest rise among non-Hispanic Black adolescents aged 16 to 18. A new study analyzing data from over 25,800 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reveals that obesity is not only increasing but becoming more severe—prompting researchers to propose new classifications beyond the current three-tier system. Children in the newly defined class 4 and 5 obesity categories—those with a BMI 160% to over 180% of the 95th percentile—face alarming health risks. Every child in these categories showed signs of insulin resistance, compared…
Black and Hispanic children faced sharply higher hospitalization rates for COVID-19 during the first three years of the pandemic, a multi-state analysis published in JAMA Network Open reveals. Based on more than 13,500 cases across 12 states, the study found that hospitalization rates were over twice as high for Black children (2.15 times) and Hispanic children (2.06 times) compared to Asian or Pacific Islander peers.These disparities deepened when children were admitted to intensive care. ICU admission was 1.88 times higher for Black children and 2.13 times higher for Hispanic children. Most hospitalizations occurred in children under age 4, and even…
Black youth exposed to violence and danger in childhood face more than immediate trauma—they carry the burden into adulthood through accelerated aging and increased cardiac risk. A new study tracking 449 Black Americans from age 10 to 29 found that early exposure to danger predicted elevated alcohol consumption later in life, even among those who didn’t drink heavily as teens. This delayed effect, called “incubation,” links childhood adversity to adult health problems through immune system changes. Researchers found that exposure to danger altered DNA methylation in FKBP5, a gene tied to inflammation. That change was associated with higher alcohol use…
Black and Hispanic children faced sharply higher hospitalization rates for COVID-19 during the first three years of the pandemic, a multi-state analysis published in JAMA Network Open reveals. Based on more than 13,500 cases across 12 states, the study found that hospitalization rates were over twice as high for Black children (2.15 times) and Hispanic children (2.06 times) compared to Asian or Pacific Islander peers.These disparities deepened when children were admitted to intensive care. ICU admission was 1.88 times higher for Black children and 2.13 times higher for Hispanic children. Most hospitalizations occurred in children under age 4, and even…
Cancer deaths tied to obesity have tripled in the U.S. over the past two decades, with sharp increases among Black Americans, Native Americans, older adults, and women. A study presented at ENDO 2025 analyzed more than 33,000 deaths from obesity-associated cancers between 1999 and 2020, revealing that age-adjusted mortality rates rose from 3.73 to 13.52 per million.Lead researcher Faizan Ahmed emphasized that “obesity is a significant risk factor for multiple cancers,” and called for targeted public health strategies, especially in underserved and rural areas. The Midwest had the highest regional death rates, while Vermont, Minnesota, and Oklahoma topped the state-level…
Lupita Nyong’o is using her platform to expose how women’s pain, particularly Black women’s pain, is routinely dismissed. In a personal essay, she reveals that doctors discovered 30 fibroids in her uterus, which had been silently growing while her symptoms were minimized. She writes that she was “encouraged to just put up with it” and describes how female suffering is often treated as an acceptable, even expected, part of life.Nyong’o links her ordeal to a broader culture of “normalization of female pain,” arguing that women are socialized to endure instead of being believed and treated. She notes that this pattern…
New federal data show that life expectancy in the United States improved in 2023, but large gaps remain among racial and ethnic groups. The overall life expectancy at birth rose to 78.4 years, up nearly a full year from 2022, yet the benefits were uneven. Asian Americans continued to have the longest life expectancy at 85.2 years, while Hispanic Americans averaged 81.3 years. White Americans followed at 78.4 years, and Black Americans at 74.0. The lowest life expectancy was recorded for American Indian and Alaska Native populations, at 70.1 years—more than 15 years below Asian Americans. The report linked much…