Title: Health Disparities that Affect the African American Community | Ultius
Headings: Health Disparities that Affect the African American Community
Essay Writing Samples
Health Disparities that Affect the African American Community
African-American community health disparities
African-Americans and Heart disease
African-Americans and diabetes
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Content: Diabetes has been known to be a leading cause of death in African Americans. The CDC (2013) found that diabetes is the fourth contributing factor in the deaths of members of this population, as 4.9 million blacks have the disease. Specifically,
“15 percent of all African Americans age 20 and older have one type of diabetes” (American Heart Association, 2013). Therefore, the high prevalence of this disease makes it a deadly health disparity for the African American community. When examining the rates of heart disease and diabetes in the African American community, one can posit that socioeconomic and cultural factors contribute to the prevalence of these two health disparities. First, socioeconomic factors affect the rates of heart disease and diabetes in African Americans since a majority of African Americans do not have access to health insurance which is essential for maintaining these conditions. This may be a due to the fact that a high number of African Americans live below the poverty line. Also, cultural influences increase the risk of acquiring heart disease and diabetes since many foods in this community have high levels of carbohydrates and meats that are known to increase cholesterol levels (American Heart Association, 2013). Consequently, if an African American has limited access to health insurance and eats a diet that lacks vegetables and healthy foods, they have a higher chance of dying from either heart disease or diabetes. Currently, policies that correlate to heart disease and diabetes involve treating the health disparities once a person is diagnosed with one of them.