Black infants and adults living in Anne Arundel are likelier to die sooner than their white counterparts and less likely to have health insurance, according to an annual health report.
“This is something we, as a county, need to work on, and it is part of a national effort as well,” said Ronna Gotthainer, the county?s health planner.
The data laid out in the reports show the mortality rate among black infants tripled between 2005 and 2006 to the second-highest level since 1997, while the rate among whites rose less than 1 percent.
Meanwhile, 20 percent of the county?s black adult population is uninsured, compared with 9 percent of whites and 13 percent of Asians.
The average life expectancy of whites was 78 years, about four years longer than blacks, who make up 15 percent of the county?s population.
The Anne Arundel chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said it was disappointed but not surprised by the report?s conclusions.
“The matters consistently affecting African-Americans in Anne Arundel County are the allocation of funding and dissemination of information into our community,” said spokesman Mikio Manuel.
“It is for this reason the NAACP always urges African-Americans to become informed and engaged in the issues affecting their families and communities.”
Gotthainer said the causes for the high death rate involve “complex factors,” including socio economic status, hereditary risks and access to health care.
To dissolve the disparity, the county has created an education program to promote health resources to the community, Gotthainer said.
The report also showed Anne Arundel continues to have a cancer mortality rate higher than the state and national average, despite that rate declining in 2006. Cancer is the No. 1 killer of county residents, and blacks have a higher mortality rate than whites, according to the report.
Heart disease and stroke were the second- and third-highest causes of death, respectively.
The one positive note out of the report is county residents are more likely to get screened for colorectal cancer and get vaccinated for influenza than other Marylanders.
