The Third World Health of Black American Males

[Shaman]

Three years ago, in April of 2006, I collaborated with the President of the National Medical Association to write an indepth report on the health status of black men in the United States. When I finally completed our research for the article, I vividly recall grappling with a title that could somehow capture the sheer tragedy of it all.

Finally, it hit me.

At the midnight hour, I decided to compare the life expectancy of black men with that of other men across the world, and so I set out to carefully adjust the statistical analysis so that the comparisons would be valid. I recalled an old professor at Columbia University who had reminded our class that black men in Harlem were much less likely to reach the age of 65 than men in poverty-stricken Bangladesh. I was stunned when I first heard that finding. But now I wanted to go deeper. And so I contacted the United Nations World Health Organization and, using adjusted statistical databases, my physician colleague and I compared the life expectancy of black men in the United States to that of other men in all major industrialzied nations and all underdeveloped nations.

Again, the results were devastating.

In 2006, the President of the National Medical Association and I reported the following jaw-dropper in our article:

"The life expectancy at birth for black males in the U.S. (68.8) is lower than that for males in Iran (69.0), Colombia (69.3) and Sri Lanka (71.5) – populations identified by the United Nations as having "medium human development." In fact, the average life expectancy for black males is much closer to that of Viet Nam, El Salvador and Iraq than it is to the life expectancy of white males in the United States."

We noted further: "Today, the average American can expect to live five years longer than a Palestinian–unless that American is a black male, in which case he can expect to die three years sooner."

The fact that black men live sicker and die much younger than most Americans is an excruciating irony, especially given their paradoxical dominance in popular American sports. Moreover, black men in the United States are also the wealthiest black male population on the planet, and they supposedly have access to the most technologically advanced healthcare system on the globe.

How is it possible then that black American males have such inferior health--even when measured against third world health standards?

At last, I knew precisely what title I would use for the article: "The Third World Health Status of African American Males." And in the article, we investigated two key scientific questions:

(1) "What accounts for the strikingly poor international health status of black males in the United States?" Is it racism? Is it stupidity? Is it some mysterious and complex convergence of social and genetic factors? What exactly is it that causes black men to live sicker and die younger?

(2) Most importantly, "What should we do about it?"

April is National Minority Health Month. And on this 3rd anniversary of the article, which has now appeared in the Journal of the National Medical Association and several other health publications, it seems fitting to revisit it, especially given our first black male president of the U.S. (and his stated commitment to eliminating racial inequality in health, which has persisted since slavery).

I wish this post had a fairy tale ending. But sadly, the health status of black men in the United States remains an international travesty. In fact, it continues to deteriorate, especially in the area of chronic disease. For the many black men on this website, and for others who know or truly care about black men, I encourage you to read "The Third World Health Status of African American Males." And stay tuned for my upcoming blogs this month that will provide tips on how black men can turn this calamity around.


Why do black men have poorer health than Palestinian men in war-torn Gaza? (Read this article to find out.)