By: PfizerNews While the spotlight right now may be on the disadvantages African Americans face while fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), they are also disadvantaged throughout the health care system when combating other diseases. Compared to their white counterparts, African Americans are generally at higher risk for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS, according to the Office of Minority Health, part of the Department for Health and Human Services. One possible contributing factor: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says African Americans are more likely to die at early ages for all causes, as young African Americans are living with diseases that are typically more common at older ages for other races. For example: High blood pressure is common in 12% vs. 10%of blacks vs. whites aged 18-34 years, respectively. It is common in 33% vs. 22% of those aged 35-49 years, respectively. Diabetes is common in 10% of blacks aged 35-49 compared to 6%of whites. Stroke is present in 0.7% of blacks aged 18-34 compared to 0.4%of whites the same age. Stroke is common in 2% of African Americans compared to 1% of whites aged 35-49 and 7% vs. 4%, respectively, in those aged 50-64. e CDC said that social factors compared to others in the U.S., specifically whites, affect African Americans at younger ages: unemployment, living in poverty, not owning a home, cost-prohibitive effects of trying to see an MD, smoking, inactive lifestyle, or obesity. A white paper from Cigna went further, acknowledging mental health disparities between African Americans and white patients. They noted blacks are 20% more likely to report psychological distress and 50% less likely to receive counseling or mental health treatment due to the aforementioned underlying socioeconomic factors. Another area of health care there is a disparity is among renal disease. Blacks and African Americans can suffer from kidney failure at as much as 3 times the rate of Caucasians, according to the National Kidney Foundation.4 Black patients represent as much of a third of all patients in the U.S. receiving dialysis for kidney failure, though they don’t […]

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