The gap in life expectancy between whites and blacks in America still exists but has narrowed substantially as a result of a decline in certain diseases and a decrease in homicides and accidents, according to a McGill University study published in the March 21 issue of JAMA. The study found that the gap declined to an historic low of 5.3 years in 2003 from 7.1 years in 1993, bringing the life expectancy of U.S. blacks to 72.7 years, compared with 78 years for whites. Specifically, a decrease in mortality among black males age 15 to 49 from homicide, HIV/AIDS, and accidental injuries, as well as a decrease in mortality among black females due to heart disease, were major reasons for the recent decline in the gap. A lack of improvement in death rates of older black men from heart disease kept the gap from narrowing even further.
Despite improvements, however, the fact that a substantial life expectancy gap still exists between the two groups will require concerted intervention from public health officials and healthcare providers, concludes the study. “The crucial thing here is that the black-white gap is not fixed and it’s not a mystery,” said lead researcher Sam Harper, a postdoctoral fellow in McGill’s department of epidemiology, biostatistics, and occupational health. “It can change because of improvements in a small number of causes of death. This means the remaining gap can be addressed through greater public health efforts and improvements in health care.” Read the news release.
