Large Health Gaps Found Among Black, Latino, and White Fifth-Graders

[xchrom]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120822184136.htm

ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2012) — Substantial racial and ethnic disparities were found for a broad set of harmful health-related issues in a new study of 5th graders from various regions of the U.S. conducted by Boston Children's Hospital and a consortium of research institutions. Black and Latino children were more likely than white children to report everything from witnessing violence to engaging in less exercise to riding in cars without wearing seatbelts. At the same time, the study found that children of all races and ethnicities did better on these health indicators if they had more highly-educated parents with higher income or had the advantages of attending certain schools. Although white children were more likely to have these advantages than black or Latino children, when children with similar advantages were compared, racial and ethnic differences for most health indicators were smaller or even absent.

The study is the most ambitious effort to date to investigate the potential drivers of racial and ethnic health disparities among preadolescents. Results emphasize the key role that schools and family income and education may play in health disparities. Mark A. Schuster, MD, Ph.D., Chief of General Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital and William Berenberg Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, led a research team that conducted the study. Between 2004 and 2006, they interviewed about five thousand 10- and 11-year-olds and their parents, in and around Birmingham, AL, Houston, TX, and Los Angeles, CA. Findings were published in the August 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"We found wide gaps between black and white children and between Latino and white children, in 5th grade," says Dr. Schuster, who began the research while at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization. "When we delved deeper, we found that factors like the child's school, household income, and parents' education were strongly related to children's health. When these key factors are taken into account, differences related to race and ethnicity are not as large. But substantial differences remain, particularly between black and white children. More work is needed to identify what is causing these disparities, so that we can find ways to improve all children's health."

[pipoman]

1. Wouldn't it be more accurate to use the term hispanic,

or Latin American rather than Latino which indicates a male of Latin descent...sorry, just a pet peeve of mine..

[LeftishBrit]

2. Not surprising, sadly. It seems to be predominantly a social class effect, more than ethnicity

Poverty is one of the biggest causes of ill health.