The death rate for African-Americans (blacks) declined 25 percent from 1999 to 2015, according to a new CDC Vital Signs report released, but disparities persist between blacks and whites. Although blacks as a group are living longer, their life expectancy is still four years less than that of whites.
Disparities in all age groups are narrowing because death rates are declining faster among blacks than among whites. The overall disparity in death rates between these two races for all causes of death in all age groups was 33 percent in 1999 but fell to 16 percent in 2015. The racial death rate gap closed completely for deaths from heart disease and for all causes of death among those 65 years and older.
Of concern, the study also found that blacks in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are more likely to live with or die from conditions that typically occur at older ages in whites, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Risk factors for some diseases, such as high blood pressure, may go unnoticed and untreated during these early years. Notably, the death rates for homicide among blacks did not change over the 17 years of the study.
The report also describes improvements in other causes of death, such as a dramatic decrease of about 80 percent in HIV deaths among 18- to 49-year-olds from 1999-2015. Dramatic drops in HIV deaths were also seen among whites. Still, a wide disparity remains with blacks seven to nine times more likely to die from HIV.
“We have seen some remarkable improvements in death rates for the black population in these past 17 years. Important gaps are narrowing due to improvements in the health of the black population overall. However, we still have a long way to go,” said Leandris Liburd, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.A., associate director, CDC’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity. “Early health interventions can lead to longer, healthier lives. In particular, diagnosing and treating the leading diseases that cause death at earlier stages is an important step for saving lives.”
Social and economic conditions, such as poverty, contribute to gaps in health differences between blacks and whites, according to the report. In all age groups, the analysis showed that blacks had lower educational attainment and home ownership and nearly twice the rate of poverty and unemployment as whites. These risk factors may limit blacks’ access to prevention and treatment of disease. Other risk factors that affect health outcomes for blacks include obesity and less physical activity.
CDC researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Vital Statistics System, and CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to examine factors that may influence disparities across the life span.
Among the key findings from the report:
