Many black men are highly educated, have a primary care physician and have insurance coverage. They expect healthcare providers to explain the seriousness of potential health problems. Poor quality healthcare and lack of communication may lead to distrust of providers. Perceived discrimination may cause black men to be less likely to seek routine visits and to have fewer recommended screening tests. Delayed medical care may lead to health problems that affect both the duration and quality of life.
Prostate Cancer
An article in the July 2005 "Journal of National Black Nurses' Association states that Black men are 1.7 times more likely to develop and two to three times more likely to die from prostate cancer than white men. Contributing factors may include cultural beliefs, distrust of the healthcare system, and myths about cancer as well as low socioeconomic status. Perceptions of risks are associated with resistance to cancer screening; of African American men who responded to the 2003 Health Information National Trends Study, nearly half believed they had a low or very low risk of developing prostate cancer, compared to 43 percent of white men. The data was analyzed in 2008 and published in the July 2009 "American Journal of Preventative Medicine." In April 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Cancer Institute launched a campaign targeted at encouraging Black males to eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day to lower cancer risk.
Sudden Cardiac Death
The American Diabetes Association reported on a 2009 study that found men have triple the risk of sudden death from a heart attack than women and that black men have approximately twice the risk of white men of a similar age. Race was not a significant factor for women. Additional risk factors for sudden cardiac death include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. The conclusions were drawn from data provided by three major studies involving nearly 5,000 adults in the United States.
Kidney Failure
End stage renal disease, or kidney failure, may be a complication of diabetes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that black males suffer disproportionately higher rates of diabetes at earlier ages and have a higher rate of complications. The Bogaluga Heart Study conducted by the University of Alabama, examined a group of children multiple times from 1973 to 1988. The subjects were 63 percent white, 37 percent black, 51 percent male and 49 percent female. By 2006, among 15 study participants who developed end stage renal disease, all were black males; no obvious cause of the condition was apparent in seven cases. The findings, published in the December 2009 "BMC Nephrology," state that Black males have an increased risk of kidney failure as young adults. The health risk may be linked to childhood obesity and elevated blood pressure.
References
- HHS News: HHS and NCI Launch National Campaign to Address Diet-Related Diseases Affecting African-American Men, April 24, 2003
- "Journal of National Black Nurses' Association," Prostate cancer among African-American males: understanding the current issues, Jones RA, Wenzel, J., July 2005, 16(1)
- "American Journal of Preventative Medicine," Race/ethnicity and the perception of the risk of developing prostate cancer, Shavers VL, July 2009, 37(1)
- American Diabetes Association: Sudden Cardiac Death Much More Likely to Strike Men, November 16, 2009
- "BMC Nephrology," End-stage renal disease in young black males in a black-white population: longitudinal analysis of the Bogalusa Heart Study, Muntner P., et. al., December 2009 (10)
