Vital Signs

Just how serious are the nation’s drug and pharmaceutical companies about developing new medicines designed to close the gap of unequal health outcomes between African Americans and the white majority?

Is routine bone density testing for women age 65 and older really an effective tool for preventing osteoporosis, the bone-weakening disease that is especially common in women of Asian descent?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 37% of all women who seek care in hospital emergency rooms for violence-related injuries were hurt by a current or former spouse or partner.

According to U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, African Americans are twice as likely to suffer a stroke than whites, making them more susceptible to stroke than any other ethnic group. Satcher spoke out on this health disparity during a stroke-screening event in Rockville, Md., called “Stroke Sunday.”

If you were asked to name a chronic disease that affects African Americans disproportionately compared to whites, sarcoidosis would probably not be the first name to spring to mind.

Physicians across the nation can expect to be busier than usual this fall, thanks to a new health promotion campaign launched by the federal Office of Minority Health (OMH).

In the year 2000, 86% of Caucasian children in the U.S. were reported by their parents to be in excellent or very good health, compared to only 75% of Hispanic children and 74% of African-American children.

When it comes to accessibility and quality of health care, people of color who live in remote rural areas are one of the most severely underserved populations in America.

Women of color account for approximately one-third of all adult women in the U.S. Yet compared to women who are members of the white majority, minority women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality from a wide range of health problems--from heart disease, lung cancer, breast cancer and HIV/AIDS to suicide and lack of adequate medical insurance.