Several reports indicate that erythrocytes (RBCs) from blacks and men have higher sodium concentrations than those from whites and women. One possible mechanism to explain this finding is a difference in the activity of Na+-K+-ATPase. To explore this possibility, we have studied the Na+ and K+ kinetics of RBC Na+-K+-ATPase and RBC Na+ and K+ concentrations in 37 normotensive blacks and whites, ...

BACKGROUND Blacks have lower life expectancy than whites in the United States. That disparity could be due to racial differences in the causes of death, with blacks being more likely to die of causes that affect the young, or it could be due to differences in the average ages of blacks and whites who die of the same cause. Prior studies fail to distinguish these two possibilities. OBJECTIVE I...

Stroke mortality is reported to be greater in blacks than in whites, but stroke incidence data for blacks and Hispanics are sparse. The aim of this study was to determine and compare stroke incidence rates among whites, blacks, and Hispanics living in the same urban community. A population-based incidence study was conducted to identify all cases of first stroke occurring in northern Manhattan,...

OBJECTIVE To assess race-specific validity of food and food group intakes measured using an FFQ. DESIGN Calibration study participants were randomly selected from the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2) cohort by church, and then by subject-within-church. Intakes of forty-seven foods and food groups were assessed using an FFQ and then compared with intake estimates measured using six 24 h dietar...

This paper explores the determinants of post-prison employment among a sample of ex-offenders released from Maryland prisons. A reduced-form equation for average weekly hours worked in the first year after release was estimated for blacks and whites. The following results emerge. Background variables have strong effects on employment. In particular, race has a consistently strong impact on labo...

Inequality between Whites and Blacks has fluctuated since the 1970’s, when a number of technological and structural changes in the economy adversely affected Blacks. In this ‘information age’, researchers concerned with inequality have coined the term ‘digital divide’ to signify the effects of exclusion from these powerful new information technologies. As increasing numbers of Americans have go...

A primary goal of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy is to reduce HIV-related health disparities, including HIV-related mortality in communities at high risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. As a group, persons who self-identify as blacks or African Americans (referred to as blacks in this report), have been affected by HIV more than any other racial/ethnic population. Forty-seven ...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to identify the role of race in seeking and receipt of care for symptoms of coronary heart disease. METHODS Data on medical care, sociodemographic characteristics, symptoms, risk factors, income, and insurance were collected in a telephone interview for a random sample of 2030 Black and White adults in inner-city Boston. Rates of care-seeking for sympt...

Although the leading cause of death among black men in the United States is coronary artery disease (CAD), risk factors have not been well documented in black populations. Therefore, possible racial differences in the relation of several characteristics to the extent of CAD were assessed in 4,722 white and 169 black men who underwent arteriography. Associations between an occlusion score (rangi...

BACKGROUND Blacks are thought to have a higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) than whites. However, prior studies are limited to administrative databases that lack specific information on VTE risk factors or have limited geographic scope. METHODS AND RESULTS We ascertained VTE from 3 prospective studies: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC), the Cardiovascular Health Stu...