LOS ANGELES, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The black population in the United States has experienced more than 1.63 million excess deaths and more than 80 million excess years of life lost, when compared with the White population over the last two decades, said a new study published on Tuesday.
After a period of progress in reducing disparities, improvements stalled, and differences between the Black population and the White population worsened in 2020, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
From 1999 to 2020, the disproportionately higher mortality rates in Black males and females resulted in 997,623 and 628,464 excess deaths, respectively, representing a loss of more than 80 million years of life, according to the study.
Heart disease had the highest excess mortality rates, and the excess years of potential life lost rates were largest among infants and middle-aged adults, according to the study.
Amid efforts in the United States to promote health equity, there is a need to assess recent progress in reducing excess deaths and years of potential life lost among the Black population compared with the White population, the study said.
"High mortality rates among Black people have less to do with genetics than with the country's long history of discrimination, which has undermined educational, housing, and job opportunities for generations of Black people," said Clyde Yancy, an author of the study and chief of cardiology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.
A companion study reveals that racial and ethnic inequities cost the United States at least 421 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, based on medical expenses, lost productivity and premature death, reported NBC News. ■
