The newly released report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at health disparities in social determinants of health, environmental hazards, health care access and health outcomes. The report defines “health disparities” as differences in health outcomes between groups that reflect social inequalities.

Disparities persist between the poor and non-poor, racial and ethnic minorities and whites, and those of different levels of educational attainment.  For example:

• Infants born to black women are 1.5 to 3 times more likely to die than infants born to women of other races and ethnicities.
• Men are more likely to die from coronary heart disease; black men and women are more likely to die of heart disease and stroke than their white counterparts.
• Rates of preventable hospitalization increase as income decreases: residents of the lowest incomes had an excess of 560,000 preventable hospitalizations when compared to residents with the highest incomes.
• Birth rates for Hispanic adolescents are 3 times that of white adolescents.
• As educational attainment increases, tobacco use declines: 32.0% of those with less than a high school education smoked, compared to 13.3% of college graduates.

The report uses data from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Related national health disparity information can be found on our website.