Skip to main content
PMC home page
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 2002;117(Suppl 1):S118–S125.

Disparities in health status and substance use: ethnicity and socioeconomic factors.

Stephen L Buka 1
PMCID: PMC1913692  PMID: 12435835

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This article reviews the literature on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in morbidity and mortality, focusing on substance use and abuse. OBSERVATIONS: In most populations and societies, people of higher social position live longer and remain healthier than those of lower position. Disparities in morbidity and mortality across ethnic groups also exist. Mortality rates for African Americans are about 1.6 times higher than those for white, with much higher disparities for certain causes, such as HIV/AIDS and diabetes. Disparities also exist in the level of substance use and abuse. CONCLUSION: Racial and ethnic differences in health and health behaviors, including substance use and abuse, may partly reflect biological differences, but it is more likely that they can be explained largely by socioeconomic differences, cultural factors, and prejudice and discrimination, both institutional and individual.

Full text

PDF
S118

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Chapin C. V. DEATHS AMONG TAXPAYERS AND NON-TAXPAYERS INCOME TAX, PROVIDENCE, 1865. Am J Public Health (N Y) 1924 Aug;14(8):647–651. doi: 10.2105/ajph.14.8.647-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. David R. J., Collins J. W., Jr Differing birth weight among infants of U.S.-born blacks, African-born blacks, and U.S.-born whites. N Engl J Med. 1997 Oct 23;337(17):1209–1214. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199710233371706. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hahn R. A. The state of federal health statistics on racial and ethnic groups. JAMA. 1992 Jan 8;267(2):268–271. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. House J. S., Kessler R. C., Herzog A. R. Age, socioeconomic status, and health. Milbank Q. 1990;68(3):383–411. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Lillie-Blanton M., Parsons P. E., Gayle H., Dievler A. Racial differences in health: not just black and white, but shades of gray. Annu Rev Public Health. 1996;17:411–448. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.17.050196.002211. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Little R. E., Sing C. F. Genetic and environmental influences on human birth weight. Am J Hum Genet. 1987 Jun;40(6):512–526. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Marmot M. G., Shipley M. J., Rose G. Inequalities in death--specific explanations of a general pattern? Lancet. 1984 May 5;1(8384):1003–1006. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(84)92337-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Marmot M. G., Smith G. D., Stansfeld S., Patel C., North F., Head J., White I., Brunner E., Feeney A. Health inequalities among British civil servants: the Whitehall II study. Lancet. 1991 Jun 8;337(8754):1387–1393. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)93068-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Marmot M., Ryff C. D., Bumpass L. L., Shipley M., Marks N. F. Social inequalities in health: next questions and converging evidence. Soc Sci Med. 1997 Mar;44(6):901–910. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(96)00194-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mohler B., Earls F. Trends in adolescent suicide: misclassification bias? Am J Public Health. 2001 Jan;91(1):150–153. doi: 10.2105/ajph.91.1.150. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Morrison A. S., Kirshner J., Molho A. Life cycle events in 15th century Florence: records of the Monte delle doti. Am J Epidemiol. 1977 Dec;106(6):487–492. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112496. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Naylor A. F., Myrianthopoulos N. C. The relation of ethnic and selected socio-economic factors to human birth-weight. Ann Hum Genet. 1967 Aug;31(1):71–83. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Wallace J. M., Jr The social ecology of addiction: race, risk, and resilience. Pediatrics. 1999 May;103(5 Pt 2):1122–1127. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Williams D. R. Race, socioeconomic status, and health. The added effects of racism and discrimination. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999;896:173–188. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb08114.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Williams D. R. Race, socioeconomic status, and health. The added effects of racism and discrimination. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999;896:173–188. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb08114.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES