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African Americans 2002

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

In the 2002 survey, the North Carolina BRFSS interviewed 1,051 African American adults of which 371 were males and 680 were females. When comparing African Americans to whites, or to all other adults in the sample, there were striking differences with regard to health care access, health risks, chronic conditions, quality of life, and preventive health behaviors. Some of these differences are highlighted below.

Health Care Access:

  • Twenty-three percent of African American adults under age 65 had no health insurance in 2002; the rate of no health insurance for whites was 15 percent.
  • Compared to whites, African Americans (13.5%) were twice as likely not to be able to get medical care when they needed it.
  • Eighty percent of African Americans reported having a personal care provider(s), slightly below the rate for whites (84.0%).
  • Eighty-two percent of African Americans reported having a routine check-up in the past year, slightly above the rate for whites (73.7%).

Health Risks:

  • African American adults (37.1%) were more likely to be obese than Whites (20.7%). Compared to white women, African American women were twice as likely to be obese.
  • In 2002, the North Carolina adult smoking prevalence was 26.2 percent; among African Americans, the smoking prevalence was 22.7 percent. The lower rate of smoking among African Americans was partially explained by never starting smoking in the first place: 58.9 percent of African Americans was never smoked, compared to 46.1 percent of whites. However, the quit smoking rate for African Americans (18.4%) was lower than that of whites (26.2%).
  • The rate of binge-drinking in the past month among African Americans (7.1%) was somewhat lower than that observed for whites (11.1%). Less than 1% of African Americans reported drinking heavily compared to 4% of whites.
  • Physical inactivity was more than twice as high among African Americans (25.1%), as compared to whites (17.7%).
  • About 19 percent of African Americans consumed five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day compared to about 26 percent of whites.
  • The rate of ever being physically assaulted was similar between African Americans (18.5%) and whites (19.6%).
  • About 24.5 percent of African Americans reportedly keep firearms in or around their home; the rate among whites for this indicator was twice as high (49.0%) and was the highest among all groups.

Chronic Conditions:

  • The prevalence of disability among African Americans (23.7%) was similar to that among whites in the 2002 survey.
  • Doctor-diagnosed arthritis prevalence was similar between whites (30.4%) and African Americans (28.8%). However, among 18 to 64 year olds who are employed, 33.8 percent of African Americans reported that arthritis or joint symptoms affects whether they worked, the type of work they did, or the amount of work they did. This rate was 22.9 percent for whites.
  • More than 11 percent of African Americans have doctor-diagnosed diabetes; this compares to 6.5 percent of whites.
  • The prevalence of current asthma among North Carolina adults was similar between whites and African Americans (about 7%).
  • Among those age 40 and older, the rate of ever being diagnosed with cancer was 8.1 percent among African Americans and 12.3 percent among whites.

Quality of Life:

  • About 25 percent of African Americans and 20 percent of whites rated their overall health as fair or poor.
  • Among those with an impairment or health problem, 39.8 percent of African Americans reported that they need the help of other persons in handling routine needs, such as household chores. Among whites with an impairment or health problem, this need was 30.7 percent.
  • About 15 percent of African Americans reported that their physical health was not good for at least 8 out of the past 30 days; among whites this rate was 13.4 percent.
  • The rate of poor mental health days (8+ out of the past 30 days) was about the same for whites and African Americans (13%).
  • Approximately 18 percent of African Americans and only 3.2 percent of whites reported that, within the past 30 days, they felt emotionally upset because of unfair racial treatment.
  • Approximately 9 percent of African Americans and only 1.3 percent of whites reported that, within the past 30 days, they experienced physical symptoms because of unfair racial treatment.
  • A much larger proportion of African Americans (7.6%) reported that they were treated worse than other races in health care settings compared to whites (1.3%). In contrast, 8 percent of whites reported that they were treated better than other races in health care settings compared to 3.1 percent of African Americans.
  • At their work place within the past 12 months, about 18 percent of African Americans reported that they were treated worse than other races compared to 4 percent of whites.

Preventive Health Behaviors:

  • About 57 percent of African Americans age 50 and older have never had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy exam; about 50 percent of whites have never had either of these exams.
  • African American females had a higher rate of having a Pap test in the past 3 years (93.8%) compared to whites (85.6%).
  • 26.5 percent of African Americans reported having a flu shot in the past year, compare to 33.8 percent of whites.
  • About 40 percent of African Americans age 65 and older have ever had a pneumonia vaccination compared to 67.3 percent of whites.

 

Return to 2002 BRFSS Annual Results Table of Contents