A study published in the December issue of American Sociological Review examines the disparities between black and white Americans in terms of chronic health conditions suffered from ages 51 to 63.
Black men have a shorter life expectancy than white men, studies show.
Hypertension, diabetes and stroke occur with greater frequency among both black men and women than among middle-aged whites. The same is true for vision problems, depression and incidence of disability. People talk about the racial gap, but in general nobody looks at why it exists, Dr. Miles says. Our paper is an addition to the literature in this field. The conclusion that racial differences in smoking, drinking, body mass and exercise do not appear to be the primary conduits accounting for racial differences in disease onset in middle age.