Many health problems are common among all societies; however, there are some ailments that are more prevalent in certain races compared to others. Awareness of the diseases and conditions that are common in one’s particular race can mean watching diet and exercise or getting doctor’s visits to prevent the problem from developing.
Addressing health issues based on race can be a sensitive topic for many individuals. It can be difficult to know how to say something without offending people or hearing something without getting offended, but there is evidence that certain races are more prone to particular conditions and people need to be aware of this.
Hispanics
While health-related issues vary between different countries of origin, common among most cultures is a disproportionate occurrence of HIV and AIDS, asthma, and diabetes and the leading cause of death for Hispanics is heart disease. While some of these diseases are attributable to culture and diet, much of the problem for Hispanic and Latino populations is a lack of availability of health care and failure to have regular preventative visits.
African Americans
The African American population has almost a 40% occurrence of high blood pressure compared to almost 30% for European Americans and also has a much higher obesity rate than other races. African Americans also have a higher rate of diabetes and the rate for complications associated with diabetes is nearly double that of other races. African Americans also tend to have a higher rate of cancer than the rest of the population, and the cancer appears to progress more quickly as well. African Americans are also more prone to lactose intolerance issues and women are far more likely to contract HIV than women of others.
White Americans
White people experience many of the same diseases as other races; however, they are more prone to certain health risks than African Americans and Hispanics. White Americans have a higher prevalence of heart diseases such as hypertension. They are also more likely to become obese and to contract tuberculosis.
Native Americans
Native Americans and Alaskan Natives are nearly three times as likely to develop diabetes as any other non-Hispanic race is. Men and Women alike also have a much higher rate of colon and rectum cancer than other races, and for women the survival rate with cervical cancer after five years is significantly lower than most others.
Many American health problems occur throughout all races such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Many of the problems associated with racial differences are not due to physiological differences among the races but rather due to a lack of access to health care and cultural differences in diet and exercise. Many of the problems associated with races could be fixed if there was more awareness and access to doctors for those individuals. The first step starts at home when people knowing they are more likely to develop something like diabetes for example, to watch their diet and get their sugar levels checked regularly to make sure everything stays in check. If this was done for all races and all conditions, many of the diseases could be rid of completely.
