On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report revealing that the death rate for black Americans has declined by roughly 25% over the last decade and a half.
But blacks are still living shorter lives than whites, according to the CDC.
Whites are living four years longer than blacks, as younger blacks suffer from conditions usually associated with old age, including diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
“The new report included health data and age-adjusted death rates for black and white Americans from 1999 to 2015. Additionally, age-specific data and death rates were examined,” reports CNN, adding:
The data were analyzed for age-specific trends among four adult age groups: 18 to 34, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 and older
The data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Vital Statistics System and the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
The data showed that from 1999 to 2015, death rates decreased significantly in both black and white populations, and the racial disparity in death rates between the two populations fell from 33% in 1999 to 16% in 2015.
While young black Americans are still at a higher risk for early death than whites, diseases that once plagued black communities, particularly in impoverished areas, are declining dramatically.
In fact, death rates from HIV have gone down by 80% in 18 to 49-year-olds, according to CDC Division of Population Health epidemiologist Timothy Cunningham.
As lead author of the report, Cunningham pointed out that blacks are still more likely to die of HIV. Cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes all affect blacks at higher rates than whites as well.
Cunningham outlined potential causes for the racial disparity, including socioeconomic factors.
“The new report pointed to social and economic conditions, such as poverty, limited access to health care, educational attainment and home ownership, as factors influencing the racial health gaps that remain,” notes CNN.
With a higher proportion of blacks living in poorer neighborhoods compared to whites, it may be difficult to disentangle the environmental and genetic variables that may be contributing to the the racial disparity.