Racial, ethnic health disparities pervasive in U.S.: study

People walk on a street in New York, the United States, July 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Mortality for a few causes of death was "consistently higher among the Black population than among the White population" in nearly all counties.

NEW YORK, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- More than two years after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared racism a public health threat, a new study shows how pervasive racial and ethnic disparities are in the United States, reported CNN on Thursday.

Based on mortality data across nearly two decades, researchers found that Black and American Indian people had the highest overall mortality rates each year from 2000 to 2019, and that these groups also had the highest mortality rates for nearly all causes of death nationwide, according to the report.

Mortality for a few causes of death, namely diabetes and kidney disease, maternal and neonatal disorders, and HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, was "consistently higher among the Black population than among the White population" in nearly all counties, it noted.

Moreover, mortality for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections was consistently higher among American Indian and Alaska Native people than it was for White population in nearly all counties, as was the rate for skin and subcutaneous diseases such as melanoma, it said.

Of the 19 causes of death that were assessed, the report underscored, the only cause of death that was the highest for the White population was neurological disorders. ■