Nephritis, nephritic syndrome, and nephrosis
Notably, suicide is within the top 10 leading causes of death for Whites, Asians or Pacific Islanders, and American Indians or Alaska Natives, but not for Blacks and Latinos. It is also important to note that Blacks are the only group that have homicide among the 10 leading causes of death (seventh) [3].
3.4.1.2 Life Expectancy
Disparities can be measured in the United States in years of potential life lost before age 75, defined as an estimation of the average time an individual would have lived if he or she had not died early due to race and ethnicity [7]. Years of potential life lost for Blacks is higher than for all other groups (see Table 3.2). In 2015, the crude estimate for Blacks is 9764.6 years of potential life lost per 100 000 population under age 75. The lowest figure is observed among Asians or Pacific Islanders: 3073.6 years of potential life lost. Though the highest figures of years of potential life lost are among Blacks, there has been a decreasing trend, from 17 873.4 years in 1980 to 9702.3 years in 2015.
Table 3.2 Years of potential life lost before age 75 (per 100 000 population under age 75) for all causes of death by race and ethnicity, United States, selected years 1980–2015.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics [6].
| Crude | Age adjusted | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| White | 7 090.6 | 9 554.1 | 8 159.5 | 6 949.5 | 6 342.8 | 6 390.1 | 6 514.8 |
| Black or African American | 9 764.6 | 17 873.4 | 16 593.0 | 12 897.1 | 9 832.5 | 9 490.6 | 9 702.3 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4 452.8 | — | 7 963.3 | 6 037.6 | 4 795.1 | 4 676.8 | 4 750.4 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 3 073.6 | 5 378.4 | 4 705.2 | 3 811.1 | 3 061.2 | 2 954.4 | 3 049.7 |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 6 895.3 | 13 390.9 | 9 506.2 | 7 758.2 | 6 771.3 | 6 954.0 | 7 176.2 |
For Latinos and Whites, the years of potential life lost also show a decreasing trend, with the exception of a slight increase between 2013 and 2014 (4668.1 years in 2013 to 4676.8 years in 2014 for Latinos and 6338.2 years in 2013 to 6390.1 years in 2014 for Whites). There were large improvements for American Indians or Alaska Natives between 1980 (13 390.9 years) and 1990 (9506.2 years), and small improvements between 1990 and 2015 (9506.2 years and 7176.2 years, respectively). Despite these improvements, a study in 2015 of mortality found that overall life expectancy in the United States has decreased slightly from 78.9 years in 2014 to 78.8 years in 2015 [8]. This is noteworthy, as it is the first time the United States has seen a drop in life expectancy in decades.
3.4.1.3 Socioeconomic Status
Lower SES is consistently associated with poorer health outcomes. Adapted from Brown and colleagues [9], a conceptual framework of the distal mediators and moderators of the relationship between SES and health outcomes and behaviors is located in Figure 3.2. This model shows how socioeconomic factors influence multiple levels of distal and proximal mediators and moderators that impact health behaviors and outcomes. SES can be measured at the individual level, such as by annual household income, the highest level of educational attainment, and wealth (e.g., earnings, home ownership, and the net value of assets) by questionnaire. A full list of measures and references is located elsewhere [10].
Figure 3.2 Conceptual framework of the distal mediators and moderators of the relationship between socioeconomic status and health outcomes and behaviors.
Source: Based on Brown et al. [9].
Lower SES is known to affect health through psychosocial factors such as stress and depression, and health behaviors such as cigarette smoking and physical inactivity [11]. In recent literature, there has been a rise in the use of the term Socioeconomic Position (SEP), which is used instead of SES as both a “resource‐based and prestige‐based measure, as linked to both childhood and adult
