Disparity Among African Americans

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What can you do in four years? Get a bachelor’s degree, learn to play the piano, have a child, write a book—the potential is enormous. Four years. In the US, the average life expectancy at birth for African Americans is nearly four years less than that of Whites (Kochanek, Arias, & Anderson, 2015). A large contributor to this disparity is difference in health outcomes between Whites and Blacks in the US. For example, African Americans have higher rates of a myriad of diseases than Whites, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia, which leads to a shorter life expectancy and poorer quality of life (Sullivan, 2013; Kuzawa & Sweet, 2009). A major mechanism causing this disparity is epigenetic modifications due to psychosocial effects of racism as well as environmental racism, which prevents African Americans’ access to healthy foods while increasing exposure to harmful environmental toxins. The poor health outcomes associated with being Black in America are only exacerbated by institutions that systematically prevent access to quality health care. …show more content…

In 2013, the average life expectancy at birth for Black Americans was 3.6 years shorter than that of White Americans (Kochanek, Aria, & Anderson, 2015). This difference is even greater between Black and White males (Kochanek, Aria, & Anderson, 2015). Fortunately, this disparity has been decreasing, largely due to decreased mortality in African Americans from heart disease, cancer, HIV, and perinatal conditions. However, this decrease has been attenuated by an increase in mortality due to maternal conditions and Alzheimer’s disease, among other conditions (Kochanek, Aria, & Anderson,

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