Study the mortality rates for blacks and whites in America since 1960, and what do you get? A gap that refuses to close.
That’s what FP David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., of Atlanta, former surgeon general, and co-authors -- including staff from AAFP’s Robert Graham Center in Washington and others -- found.
Their report, “What If We Were Equal? A Comparison Of The Black-White Mortality Gap In 1960 And 2000,” was published in the March-April Health Affairs. An abstract is at http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/2/459.
Former Surgeon General, Graham Center Target Black-White Mortality Gap
By News Staff
3/18/2005
This story first appeared in the March 18, 2005, AAFP Direct.
The researchers examined mortality rates from 1960 to 2000. “We’ve made tremendous progress in the health of all people in this country. Whether it’s infant mortality or life expectancy, there’s been progress,” Satcher said in an interview March 10. “However, the progress has not been equal. There’s still a tremendous gap between the health of African-Americans and whites.”
The authors calculated standardized mortality ratios by dividing the black death rate by the white death rate, according to sex and age. The higher the SMR, the worse the gap. Some 1960-to-2000 comparisons:
The authors calculated standardized mortality ratios by dividing the black death rate by the white death rate, according to sex and age. The higher the SMR, the worse the gap. Some 1960-to-2000 comparisons:
- Fewer black and white infants (babies younger than 1) died in 2000, based on deaths per 100,000 in each racial group -- good news. However, the SMRs for male and female infants increased -- bad news.
- The gap for females narrowed for ages 1 to 74, most markedly for ages 15 to 64 -- more good news.
- The gap for males widened for ages 5 to 24 and ages 45 to 84 and older, being most marked for the middle-aged and elderly -- bad news.
If the black-white mortality gap were eliminated, the report noted, an estimated 83,570 deaths could be prevented each year.
“The Academy has expressed its commitment to the elimination of disparities in health,” said Satcher. “This study makes very clear the challenges we’re going to face, and how important it is that we’ve made that commitment.”
Satcher accented the need to target a broad base of problems “from access to care, to the quality of care people get when they get access, to the quality of the environment. If a child is growing up in a home where there’s lead, that child’s life expectancy is going to be lower. We’ve got to get more involved with changing the environment.”
He added, “We’ve got to help patients improve their lifestyles, especially since obesity now threatens to undo a lot of the progress we’ve made.”
“The Academy has expressed its commitment to the elimination of disparities in health,” said Satcher. “This study makes very clear the challenges we’re going to face, and how important it is that we’ve made that commitment.”
Satcher accented the need to target a broad base of problems “from access to care, to the quality of care people get when they get access, to the quality of the environment. If a child is growing up in a home where there’s lead, that child’s life expectancy is going to be lower. We’ve got to get more involved with changing the environment.”
He added, “We’ve got to help patients improve their lifestyles, especially since obesity now threatens to undo a lot of the progress we’ve made.”
