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In 2002, "diseases of the heart" and diabetes mellitus ranked as the first and sixth leading causes of death for African Americans in the US. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Cardiovascular diseases are the No. 1 killer of African Americans, claiming the lives of 36.4% of the over 290,000 blacks who die each year. Cancer kills 21.5%. All other causes of death account for about 42%. The age-adjusted death rate from coronary heart disease in 2002 was almost 20% higher among black adults than for the total adult population in the United States. Heart Facts 2006: African Americans. American Heart Association. 2000-2002 Age-Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population*
Population Heart Disease StrokeUS 247.7 58.0 US Non-Hispanic Black 319.2 79.8 California 231.1 60.8 CA Non-Hispanic Black 342.5 87.6
DIABETES 3.2 million of 13.3% of all non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years or older have diabetes. After adjusting for population age differences, non-Hispanic blacks are 1.8 times as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites. National Diabetes Fact Sheet. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Institutes of Health, American Diabetes Association. 2000-2002 Age-Adjusted Death Rate Per 100,000 Population
With Diabetes As Underlying or Multiple Cause of Death* Population 1999-2001 2000-2002US 25.2 25.2 US Non-Hispanic Black 50.3 50.0 California 21.8 21.6 CA Non-Hispanic Black 46.4 46.3
*Three-year average annual death rates are used. Source: Mortality by State, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Age and Cause, 1999-2002 CDC/NCCDPHP
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