Racial And Ethnic Differences In Mortality In The United States

Overview of Mortality Differences Among Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States

Question:

Discuss about the Data Disaggregation and Operationalization.

It is evident that the data presented have shown a statistical trend in dissimilarities. The common top five causes of death among the two age groups are observable. The cause of death among the group is similar in between the groups. The top five causes of death include intentional self harm, assault and suicide, malignant neoplasms and diseases of the heart. These diseases are common for the younger generation and it is seen to be transmitted to the middle young generation of the age bracket of 25-35 years.

Observable difference among the data is the lower bottom five differences that have shown dissimilarity. Among the younger age group of 20-24 years, congenital; malformations takes centre stage with a death rate of 0.8. This is followed by diabetes mellitus with a death rate of 0.6, both which are similar to influenza and pneumonia, pregnancy child birth and puerperium and chronic lower respiratory diseases.

Among the 25-34 years old, chronic liver diseases take centre stage has a death rate of 1.7, while HIV has 1.3 death rates. There are similarities among HIV , cerebrovasuclar diseases, influenza & pneumonia with a death rate of 1.3.

The mortality statistics of unintentional harm, falls and suicidal case have increased in the past decade, with statistics showing that poisoning has gone up by 128%, while falls death increased to 71% while suicide case increased by 15%.

Motor vehicle accidents have shown to declined in the past few years by 25%. However when ranked, suicide comes first, followed by motor vehicle traffic accidents, poisoning, accidental falls and finally homicides cases. While comparing the gender statistics it shows that female experience lower injury mortality than the male counterparts, (Peden et al., 2012).

The increasing trends of intentional and intentional deaths have been shown to have spillover effect to the older generation. The characteristics of deaths and injuries occurring in the age bracket of 20-24 years have shown to spill over to the age bracket of 35-44 years as observed from the similarity in the trends shown.

In both age groups it is evidence that mortality rates for the suicidal actions, poisoning and falls have increased substantially. Thus, affecting directly the population in both gender groups. When compared interdependently, it is noted that suicide has surpassed the motor vehicle accidents. Comprehensive traffic rules initiated have had a major impact in the reduction of traffic accidents mortality deaths.

Common Causes of Death Among Different Racial and Ethnic Groups

Homicidal cases have shown that there is similarity on age, gender and race. There is variation among the Hispanics and the whites. Hispanics and black males have indicated an increased in the relative risks which increases with age, (MacAnininch et al., 2014).

Thus the injury mortality trend among the younger generation has shift upwards in the last decade. In this category there is increased rise in the rates associated with poisoning, falls and suicidal. The reason for this is the reduced sustainable safety measures which have significantly reduces over the past decade thus exacerbating the increasing trends in both groups, (WHO, 2011).

This task seeks to evaluate the statistical evidence regarding racial and ethnic differences in mortality deaths in United States among two specific age group brackets that is 20-24 and 35-44 years of age. The statistical information replicated here is similar to the above on the causes of death; however narrow of focus will be the all races.

 The major groups that comprise the American population included in the statistical report include the African Americans, Hispanic, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders among other minority small groups.

The mortality rates for the whites and the African Americans shows that the vital statistics and the census, indicate that the Black Death rates often are more prevalent than the white rates. There has been stiff competition on how the racial characteristics behave in terms of the vital characteristics.

At younger ages the age specific death rates for the African American mix, have shown that the  mortality rates exceeds the white rates in a ratio of 2:1 and there is gradual steady rise of narrowing of the age bracket. Currently, white mortality rates have been characteristically disadvantages the blacks in the middle ages which this trend has followed the relative increase in death rates compared to the white rates, (Kochanek, Arais & Anderson,2013).

This crossover effect has been attributed to the fact that survival for the fittest has taken centre stage. This indicates that the African American at younger ages have on adverse conditions faced various subjects to weakest members to high mortality incidences.

Data suggest that individual races which have experienced the crossover effect have experienced unfavourable conditions in the early life tend to have experienced in elevated mortality later as years goes by, (Turra & Elo, 2008).

On a racial platform, black Americans have been observed as having the highest death rates among any of the Americas racial and ethnographic representation. In a wider part, this has been linked to the fact that inequalities and economic status, education and further their occupational jobs, which is linked to risks of mortality death rates.

Trends in Mortality Rates Among Different Age Groups and Racial and Ethnic Groups

The racial differences with respect to mortality often persist in studies where those aged between 20-24 and 35-44 can be compared among individual’s similar levels of income and security status. The blacks often have the disadvantage in that often the black race appears in all the major cases of death, which include those of heart diseases, cancer and stroke related deaths. However the disadvantage is that greatest death especially among the 35-44 is the HIV infection which is often at risks for the blacks at over estimate over seven times the risks associated with the white Americans.

The death rates associated with American Indians are showing similar trends for the most cases; however they are substantially higher for the cirrhosis of the liver and for both intentional injuries like suicide and homicide cases. The Asian and pacific islanders and Hispanics by difference often show lower rates of mortality than the expected in the social economic status as seen in the united states, (Wallace & Kulu, 2015).

However, the death rates across the racial parameters have declined among the Hispanic, black and Asians/ pacific islanders among the American population. This is in line with the trends with other countries such as the Canada and UK. A comprehensive study undertaken shows that there is increase emergences of American Indians in United States.

The declining rates of disease occurrences have been attributed to the fact that deaths in the age bracket of 35-44 years among the blocks, Hispanics and Asian pacific islanders were few in terms diseases such as heart diseases, HIV and Cancer however not included in the overall CDC list, (Botmann et al., 2004).

This decline can be attributed to the fact that there has been a lot of effort among the public officers in an effort to reduce tobacco smoking and increase on the use of advance medical facilities. Also the whites experienced fewer deaths in terms of heart related diseases. However despite these tremendous efforts, there has been slow decline in terms of rates among the black men and the whites women.

However, the overall mortality rates among the whites and the islanders pacific have been increased  in the form of accidental deaths such as those of drug overdoses, suicidal attempts and liver associated diseases. In the age bracket of 20-24 years, the whites and islander pacific have experienced and observed an increased death rate which is higher that 2-5 % which is compared to other observed racial groupings of other US population, (Borell & Crawford, 2008).

Conclusion

To conclude is that, there is wide variation of ethnic status with regard to ethnic mortality death as per the statistics of CDC. The ethnography of the individual indicates whether they are more prone to mortality to any allied cause of death. There is great variation in terms of death mortality among the different groups in the study findings. However there are other causes of mortality which cuts across the different racial group in USA population.

References

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Kochanek, K. D., Arias, E., & Anderson, R. N. (2013). How did cause of death contribute to racial differences in life expectancy in the United States in 2010?.

McAninch, J., Greene, C., Sorkin, J. D., Lavoie, M. C., & Smith, G. S. (2014). Higher psychological distress is associated with unintentional injuries in US adults. Injury prevention, 20(4), 258-265.

Peden M, McGee K, Sharma G. The Injury Chartbook: A Graphical Overview of the Global Burden of Injuries. World Health Organization; 2002. Available at: https://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/924156220X.pdf.

Turra, C. M., & Elo, I. T. (2008). The impact of salmon bias on the Hispanic mortality advantage: New evidence from social security data. Population research and policy review, 27(5), 515.

Wallace, M., & Kulu, H. (2015). Mortality among immigrants in England and Wales by major causes of death, 1971–2012: a longitudinal analysis of register-based data. Social Science & Medicine, 147, 209-221.

World Health Organization. Injuries, & Violence Prevention Department. (2002). The injury chart book: A graphical overview of the global burden of injuries. World Health Organization.