Blacks more likely to die of cancer and diabetes

Abstract

African-Americans in North Carolina are more likely than whites to die of most cancers and more likely to get and die of diabetes, doctors said Thursday during a panel discussion about health disparities. African-American babies are also more likely that white infants to die in their first year of birth, an advocate for lowering infant mortality rates said. "We see this as an issue of social justice," said Debbie Mason of the Forsyth County Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition. The health disparities forum was part of a daylong event focusing on improving health for blacks in Forsyth put on by the Winston-Salem Urban League. Mason said mortality rates for African-American babies are three times as high as the rates for white babies in Forsyth, the largest gap in the state. She said mortality rates for African-American infants are also higher in Forsyth than in any of the other urban counties in North Carolina.