Problem
"Wong & associates (2002) conducted a similar analysis with more sophisticated techniques of adjustment. They also contrasted racial and ethnic disparities with educational disparities and found that different diseases contribute to different disparities. In terms of disparities in mortality between less well and more well-educated persons, coronary artery disease, lung cancer, stroke, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and lung disease contributed most to lost years of life. With respect to racial or ethnic disparities in mortality, however, hypertension, HIV, diabetes, and homicide were the greatest contributors. Therefore, there are a few diseases that contribute most to disparities in mortality. Keppel et al. (2002) examined data between 1990 and 1998 using a set of ten health status indicators relevant to the Healthy People 2010 goals. These indicators included a range of health conditions (coronary heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis) as well as indicators with more direct social referents such as live births to teenagers ages 15-17 and suicide and homicide rates. Keppel et al. examined these indicators in relation to racial and ethnic categories employed in the US. census: non-Hispanic white; non-Hispanic black; Hispanic; American Indian or Alaska Native; and Asian or Pacific Islander. For mortality related to disease and traumatic injury, rates declined for all population subgroups between 1990 and 1998. With respect to racial and ethnic disparities, black Americans' rates for six measures (total mortality, heart disease, lung cancer, breast cancer, stroke, and homicide) exceeded other groups' rates by a factor ranging from 2.5 to almost 10 during both time periods. Other ethnic groups had higher rates for suicide (white Americans) and motor vehicle accidents (American Indian and Alaskan Natives). Overall, Asians and Pacific Islanders tended to have the lowest mortality rates, although Hispanics were lowest for strokes." (Dressler et al 2005; 233).
Based on this additional information, why do you think Black Americans have a higher mortality than most other Americans across most causes of death? What do you think about some of the variation in causes of death between racial and ethnic groups described here?