Asthma

According to information presented on MedlinePlus and a recent article from the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, African Americans are five times more likely to die of asthma and four times more likely to be hospitalized for the condition than other Americans.

Cancer

During 1988-1992, the highest age-adjusted incident rate of cervical cancer occurred among Vietnamese American women (43 per 100,000), almost five times higher than the rate among non-Hispanic white women (7.5 per 100,000).

During 1988-1992, the highest incidence rate of liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer was in Vietnamese American men (41.8 per 100,000), more than 10 times higher than the rate among non-Hispanic white men (3.3 per 100,000).

Diabetes

During 1996-2000 Native Hawaiians were 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than non-Hispanic white residents of Hawaii of similar age.

Among Hispanics/Latinos, the diabetes death rate in 2000, was highest among Puerto Ricans (172 per 100,000), compared to Mexican Americans (122 per 100,000), and Cuban Americans (47 per 100,000)

In 2001, the diabetes age-adjusted death rate for African Americans was more than twice that for white Americans (49.2 per 100,000 vs. 23.0)

Heart Disease and Stroke

In 2001, the age-adjusted death rate for heart disease was 30.1% higher for African Americans (316.9 per 100,000) than for white Americans (243.5) The age-adjusted death rate for stroke was 41.2% higher for African Americans (78.8 per 100,000) than for white Americans (55.8).

Injuries

In 2001, American Indian and Alaska Native death rates for unintentional injuries and motor vehicle crashes were 1.7 to 2.0 times higher than the rates for all racial/ethnic populations, while suicide rates for youth in this community were 3 times greater than rates for whites of similar age.