WHAT:
Health Disparities among African Americans when compared to other American citizens were first identified by W.E.B Du Bois in the 1800s. The distinct and often dramatic differences in health status persist in 2008.
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-- Heart Disease
In 2004, the death rate for heart disease was about 30 percent higher for African Americans (280.6 per 100,000 population) than for white Americans. (213.3 per 100,000 population).
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-- Cancer
In 2004, the death rate for malignant neoplasm disease was about 20 percent higher for African Americans (227.2 per 100,000 population) than for white Americans. (184.4 per 100,000 population).
-- Stroke
In 2004, the death rate for cerebrovascular disease was about 50 percent higher for African Americans (69.9 per 100,000 population) than for white Americans (48.0 per 100,000 population).
-- Diabetes
In 2004, the death rate for diabetes was more than twice as high for African Americans (48.0 per 100,000 population) as for white Americans (22.3 per 100,000 population).
-- Unintentional Injuries
In 2004, the death rate for unintentional injuries was more than twice as high for African Americans (36.3 per 100,000 population) as for white Americans (15.6 per 100,000 population).
Media have recently focused on several high profile cases of tuberculosis (TB) when TB has been a growing problems among African Americans for sometime. In 2005, the majority (82 percent) of all reported TB cases in the United States occurred in racial and ethnic minorities. The rate of TB in black, non-Hispanics was 8 times higher than the rate of TB in white non-Hispanics (10.8 cases per 100,000 in blacks, versus 1.3 cases per 100,000 in whites) with the geographic concentration of TB in African-Americans is in the Southeast and Northeast.
During the month of February, Black History Month, the spotlight is more focused on the issues that impact and reflect on African Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would like to take advantage of this time period to strongly encourage and support efforts to increase awareness of the health issues that disproportionately affect African Americans throughout the year.
WHO:
Dr. Darwin Labarthe, director of the Division of Heart Disease and Stroke, will talk about how using spices, herbs, and salt-free seasons can reduce sodium in- take and lower the risk for high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure and kidney disease.
Bob German, associated director for science in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Health Promotion can discuss how African Americans experience disproportionate rates of cancer incidence and resulting deaths. Among men, for all cancers combined, the incidence and death rates are highest among blacks. The cancer incidence rates for women are highest among whites, but the cancer death rates are highest among black women.
Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS can address why blacks account for roughly half of the more than 1 million Americans living with HIV and half of all people newly diagnosed with HIV infection each year, while representing just 13 percent of the population; and how everyone can take steps to act against the HIV crisis in the black community through increased awareness, communication and testing.
Dr. Ann Albright, director of the Division of Diabetes Translation, can talk about preventing diabetes, the sixth leading cause of death in the United States with a prevalence rate that more than doubled among African-Americans from 1980 to 2005, from 3.3 to 6.8. It is estimated that, among American
