MINORITIES SHOW SIGNS OF
IMPROVED HEALTH DURING 1990s

By Becky Ham, Staff Writer
Health Behavior News Service

Despite these gains, minority health still lags behind that of whites in the nation’s 100 largest cities and suburbs, say researchers from SUNY Downstate Medical Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Urban blacks experienced the biggest decreases in teen pregnancy and low birth weight rates during the 1990s, and urban and suburban blacks also had the highest increased rate of prenatal care. But these key indicators of health in blacks still lag far behind those in whites, say SUNY Downstate’s Dennis Andrulis, Ph.D., and colleagues.

“Our findings for urban and suburban black residents is very good news, but we must keep it in perspective. Despite the impressive gains, averages for black residents remain well below those for whites on virtually all measures,” Andrulis says.

Hispanics received a mixed bill of health in the 1990s, according to the report. While teen pregnancy rates fell slightly, low birth weights and prenatal care rates edged upward.

Health differences between blacks and Hispanics may relate to economic trends, according to Andrulis and colleagues. Hispanic poverty rates and per capita income have remained relatively stagnant, compared to economic gains in other racial and ethnic groups.

Rates of low birth weights increased the most among suburban white women, rising by 17 percent between 1990 and 2000. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the increase in low birth weight among these women may be due in part to older mothers using assisted reproductive technologies.

The upswing in suburban white low birth weights, along with the progress made by urban blacks on a number of health indicators, could help explain why urban and suburban measures of health are converging, say the researchers.

Along with indicators of maternal and infant health, the study also tracked tuberculosis rates between 1996 and 2000. Overall rates fell for whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians, even while rates rose 6 percent among foreign-born residents. Asians still have the highest rates of infection, 15 times that of whites.

The report emphasizes that health disparities remained persistent in the 1990s, despite a booming economy and some gains in health across all racial and ethnic groups.

“If improvements are to be sustained and disparities significantly diminished, public and community health leaders need to recognize that growing diversity in the cities and suburbs means that both areas require attention,” Andrulis says.

Access to the full report and to city-specific data is available at www.downstate.edu/healthdata.

Center for the Advancement of Health
Contact: Ira R. Allen
Director of Public Affairs
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