Improving the Overall Health of African Americans

While some of the higher rates of illness in African Americans could be attributed to the fact that many African Americans live in inner cities and are under stress, it is now known that many African American people suffer from a Vitamin D deficiency; and Vitamin D deficiency can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, colon cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, renal disease, rheumatoid conditions, periodontal disease, obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Rickets and Osteomalacia.

The reason many African Americans more often suffer from Vitamin D deficiency can be attributed to the fact people tend to get most of their Vitamin D from the sun, and darker skin absorbs less Vitamin D than paler skin does. A recent airing of Boston's WHDH/Channel 7 program, Urban Update, addressed the issue of African American people in the northern part of the U.S. (such as Boston) and their increased risk of Vitamin D deficiency. It was stated that Caucasian people generally average Vitamin D levels which are at the low end of acceptable, while many African Americans in the north fall below what is an acceptable level of Vitamin D. When African Americans live in areas that offer more direct and substantial exposure to the sun that can make up for the fact that their darker skin absorbs less Vitamin D. It is more difficult for the African American who lives in colder climates to have the degree of sun exposure needed to get enough Vitamin D.

The same Boston program discussed a recent study that showed that African Americans and other minority groups often did not receive the level of health care given to Caucasians. The study compared groups of people from all income levels and concluded that, for example, the Caucasian person going to an emergency room and complaining of chest pains was more often tested for heart problems, while African Americans and other minorities were often sent home with a product like Mylanta. It is not believed by the people conducting the study that the discrepancies in quality of health care is intentional at all. This is a problem that is being addressed, and it is one requiring awareness on the part of health care providers. In the meantime, there is the possibility that if more African Americans have heart disease one part of this complex problem could be that early heart disease, which could possibly be treated, may be overlooked until it has become a more severe problem.

Also, although the rate of African American babies born to unmarried mothers has declined in recent years, there is still a substantial percentage of African American babies born to single mothers. With many single mothers (of all races) having limited financial resources and/or education, and with many of them being very young, there is a higher likelihood that babies will have mothers who may not be as skilled at nurturing as mothers really need to be. When mothers lack nurturing skills or the understanding of the type of nurturing that is required for a baby to form the right brain connections (synapses) in the first three years of life (www.zerotothree.org) there is at least the chance that babies will not form the right connections. As a result, some babies will grow up with brains that respond inappropriately to things like stress. This can actually affect an individual's immune system for his entire life.

With the rate of "illegitimate" births in the area of 22% in the 1960's and a peak in the rate (about 70%) in 1994, there is at least the chance that any higher percentage of individuals with immune system inadequacies resulting from inexperienced mothers could be linked to babies born once the rate of out-of-wedlock births began to climb. If, in fact, the rate of out-of-wedlock births and inexperienced mothers has any substantial impact on the overall health of African Americans as a group then educating the youngest of mothers on the importance of making a baby or toddler feel secure, and of providing the right types of activities, could make a difference in the next generation of African Americans.

In the New England Journal of Medicine (Mortality Among Infants of Black, as Compared With White, College-Educated Parents) KC Schoendorf, CJ Hogue, JC Kleinman, and D Rowley present findings the show that when differences in sociodemographic factors are eliminated, and when the babies of White, college-educated, mothers are compared with the babies of Black, college-educated mothers Black babies low birth weight (including that caused by prematurity) occurs about twice as often in Black babies than in White babies. Black infants were shown to have higher incidents of perinatal events, including prematurity. Since low birth weight is associated with higher infant mortality this does account for some of the higher rate of infant mortality among Black women.

The study found, however, that after removing the low-birth weight factor, the babies of Black, college-educated, women and White, college-educated, women had equivalent mortality rates.

Black women, as a group, are said to have higher rates of obesity than White women; and obesity-associated conditions during pregnancy may be linked to low birth weight.

According to the Philadelphia Black Women's Health Project, although births to teen mothers are down among African Americans, young African American women (in their teens) are still two to three times more likely to have babies than young White women are. Since very young mothers are more prone to complications and low birth-weight (full-term and premature) babies it is easy to see how teen mothers can factor into the higher infant mortality rate.

Of course, among all low-income women there can be improper nutrition, inadequate prenatal care, stress and other factors associated with having a low income. Women over 35 are also more likely to deliver prematurely. In other words, in addition to some of the more glaring factors that may play a role in a higher mortality rate in African American babies there are also those factors, there are also a number of various factor (such as income level or advanced age) that must also be considered.

Until fairly recently, there have been general assumptions that higher rates of certain health problems were probably linked to specific socio-economic factors associated with specific segments of the African American population. While in some cases socio-economic factors may play a role (as they often do in Caucasians as well), knowing that issues such as Vitamin D deficiency and subtle discrepancies in health care are now better understood.