Illness and Ethnicity

According to the American Medical Association, the nature of illnesses is more associated with status and ethnicity as opposed to random distribution. Infant mortality rates are higher among African Americans. The high mortality rate for Hispanics is largely due to their lower than average social class. Native Americans high mortality rate reflects living conditions. Ironically, other factors including sex, age, and gender also affect illness, but the AMA contends that social class has the greatest influence on illness; while race and ethnicity also affects health status.

First of all, ethnicity refers to members of an ethnic group, especially a minority or nationality group. Minorities are defined as people who differ racially and politically from a larger group. In reality, in the United States, ethnicity refers to minorities and is anyone who is not Caucasian. This is not to say that illness is restricted to minorities but it does link illness to ethnicity. Consequently, living conditions and their effects on minorities is a social status and it is not news; at least not to minorities.

Secondly, minorities in general have a resume of inadequacies that definitely have a negative effect on health. Poverty, lack of health care, environmental hazards, unsafe working conditions, inadequate housing, and psychological stress are major aspects of minority living. On the other hand, Tiger Woods is a minority and being a minority is in no way a debasement. The AMA bases its findings solely on statistics with no regard for any one race or social class.

Last but far from least, minorities are quite accustomed to statistics because being a minority is a statistic. According to the website, America.gov, minorities make up one third of the American population. However, based on recent findings by the US Census Board, population projections dictate that minorities are the majority. These findings significantly suggest that any correlation between illness and ethnicity will only increase in the future.