Premature Death Racial Disparity in United States

United States

Rates of disease and mortality are often higher among historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups. Counties that are majority non-Hispanic Black or majority American Indian/Alaska Native have higher rates of premature death than counties that are majority non-Hispanic white.

Studies show that poverty, low education, inadequate social support and racial segregation contribute to premature death. These social factors often converge in minority communities. Structural racism further limits the resources available to racial/ethnic minority communities, where need is highest: Chronic stress due to racial discrimination can set off physiological and psychological chain reactions, manifesting in earlier onset and higher prevalence of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and stroke. 

Eliminating racial disparities in premature death would save the United States an estimated $135 billion a year in lost productivity and excess health costs. 

According to America’s Health Rankings data, the racial/ethnic groups with the largest disparities in premature death include:

• The American Indian/Alaska Native population, which has the highest premature death rate. It is 3.8 times higher than that of the Asian/Pacific Islander population and 1.6 times higher than that of the white population. Among the American Indian/Alaska Native population, the top four leading causes of premature death in 2021 were COVID-19, unintentional injuries, heart disease and cancer.
  • Risk factors contributing to a higher rate of unintentional injuries include rural environments, lack of traffic safety and higher rates of alcohol-related accidents.
  • Higher prevalences of smoking, alcohol abuse and diabetes contribute to elevated rates of premature death from heart disease and cancer. 
  • Another source of racial disparities in premature death are gaps in birth outcomes. The infant mortality rate is almost twice as high among infants born to American Indian/Alaska Native mothers compared with infants born to white mothers.
• The Black population, which has a premature death rate 3.4 times higher than that of the Asian/Pacific Islander population and 1.4 times higher than that of the white population. Data from 1960 through 2009 showed the premature mortality rate for the Black population was consistently twice that of the white population. Among the Black population, the top four leading causes of premature death in 2021 were heart disease, cancer, COVID-19 and unintentional injuries. 
  • Racial disparities in cardiovascular disease and homicide are leading drivers of disparities in premature mortality.
  • Staggering and persistent gaps in birth outcomes are also contributors to early death rates. The non-Hispanic Black population has the highest infant mortality rate in the U.S. — more than twice that of non-Hispanic white and Asian populations.

Racial disparities in health endure in the U.S. because of the inequitable systems of power that affect nearly every aspect of life, from the individual, interpersonal and internal level to the institutions where policy, law and resource allocation are determined. The resulting inequalities in the social determinants of health, such as income and wealth, access to quality health care, education and employment, are deeply entangled with one another. According to Healthy People 2030, promoting healthy choices is not enough to eliminate health disparities. They suggest that public health organizations collaborate with other sectors such as education, transportation and housing to improve the conditions in people's social, economic and physical environments. 

The health disparities that minority populations experience are different from community to community and local solutions are needed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has documented several strategies for reducing health disparities, including:

• The Traditional Foods Project, aimed at reducing rates of Type 2 diabetes in American Indian/Alaska Native populations.
• The Boston Children’s Hospital’s Community Asthma Initiative, an intervention for Black and Hispanic children at risk of asthma complications.
• Programs funded by the CDC’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) that implemented multicomponent interventions to increase colorectal cancer screening among racial and ethnic minority populations.

Increasing access to mental health and primary care for currently underserved minority populations is also critical for decreasing premature death rates. Currently, there is insufficient research to determine the most effective methods of increasing access to behavioral health and primary care for racial and ethnic minority populations.

One of the overarching goals of Healthy People 2030 is to “attain healthy, thriving lives and well-being free of preventable disease, disability, injury and premature death.” While Healthy People 2030 does not have a specific goal for reducing premature death, it does set goals for many contributors to premature death, including:

• Reducing cancer-related illness and death. 
• Preventing unintentional injuries. 
• Reducing deaths related to smoking. 
• Preventing obesity. 
• Reducing deaths from heart disease and stroke. 
• Reducing maternal deaths.
• Reducing the rate of infant deaths. 
• Reducing the rate of child and adolescent deaths. 

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