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The burden of disease associated with being African-American in the United States and the contribution of socio-economic status

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  • Franks, Peter
  • Muennig, Peter
  • Lubetkin, Erica
  • Jia, Haomiao

Abstract

The burden of disease associated with being African-American in the US, and the contribution of socio-economic status (SES) to that burden have not been quantified. We derived burden of disease estimates for African-Americans and whites by age group, with and without adjustment for SES (income and education). We used (1) EQ-5D Index scores from the 2000 US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to derive quality-adjusted life year (QALY) compatible estimates of health-related quality of life (HRQL); (2) 1990-1992 US National Health Interview Survey data linked to National Death Index data through 1995 to derive mortality risks; and (3) 2000 US mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics to derive current mortality estimates for the US population. We found that relative to whites, African-Americans suffer 67,000 more deaths annually, resulting in 2.2 million years of life lost, and 1.1 million years after SES adjustment. Total QALYs lost (HRQL and mortality) dropped from 2.3 million to 902,000 after SES adjustment. SES differences between African-Americans and whites appear to explain all the HRQL disparity but only half the mortality disparity. Better understanding of the disparate effects of SES may inform interventions to address health disparities adversely affecting African-Americans.

Suggested Citation

  • Franks, Peter & Muennig, Peter & Lubetkin, Erica & Jia, Haomiao, 2006. "The burden of disease associated with being African-American in the United States and the contribution of socio-economic status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(10), pages 2469-2478, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:62:y:2006:i:10:p:2469-2478
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    3. Levine, M.E. & Crimmins, E.M., 2014. "Evidence of accelerated aging among African Americans and its implications for mortality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 27-32.
    4. Marcus J. Fila & Justin Purl & Seulki (Rachel) Jang, 2022. "Demands, Resources, Well-Being and Strain: Meta-Analyzing Moderator Effects of Workforce Racial Composition," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 2163-2190, August.
    5. Aburto, José Manuel & Kristensen, Frederikke Frehr & Sharp, Paul, 2021. "Black-white disparities during an epidemic: Life expectancy and lifespan disparity in the US, 1980–2000," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    6. Boen, Courtney, 2016. "The role of socioeconomic factors in Black-White health inequities across the life course: Point-in-time measures, long-term exposures, and differential health returns," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 63-76.
    7. Do, D. Phuong & Frank, Reanne & Finch, Brian Karl, 2012. "Does SES explain more of the black/white health gap than we thought? Revisiting our approach toward understanding racial disparities in health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(9), pages 1385-1393.
    8. Lena Flyckt & Anna Löthman & Leif Jörgensen & Anders Rylander & Thomas Koernig, 2013. "Burden of informal care giving to patients with psychoses: A descriptive and methodological study," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 59(2), pages 137-146, March.
    9. Daleniece Higgins Jones & Xinhua Yu & Qian Guo & Xiaoli Duan & Chunrong Jia, 2022. "Racial Disparities in the Heavy Metal Contamination of Urban Soil in the Southeastern United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-12, January.

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