Race or income: What’s really at play with health disparities?

In February, an article published by the American Medical Association pointed out that income inequality is likely the cause for health disparity among races.¹ The topic of health disparities was also the subject of the editorial published in the January/February issue, “Systemic racism and health disparities: a statement from editors of family medicine journals” (J Fam Pract. 2021;70:3-5).

It would be interesting to compare health outcomes among Blacks, Latinos, and Whites stratified by income/poverty levels. I suspect that much of the racial inequality would fade with that. There are so many questions to ask in relation to these issues rather than chalk everything up to racism. Does education, dietary choices, exercise, substance abuse, or cultural priorities factor into the differences? If everyone suddenly had equal access to care and equal financial resources, would there be any difference, or would behavior patterns remain unchanged?

I would hope we could avoid groupthink and be willing to intelligently and critically evaluate these issues so that the underlying problems can be effectively addressed.

Steven Mull, MD
Rockford, IL

In February, an article published by the American Medical Association pointed out that income inequality is likely the cause for health disparity among races.¹ The topic of health disparities was also the subject of the editorial published in the January/February issue, “Systemic racism and health disparities: a statement from editors of family medicine journals” (J Fam Pract. 2021;70:3-5).

It would be interesting to compare health outcomes among Blacks, Latinos, and Whites stratified by income/poverty levels. I suspect that much of the racial inequality would fade with that. There are so many questions to ask in relation to these issues rather than chalk everything up to racism. Does education, dietary choices, exercise, substance abuse, or cultural priorities factor into the differences? If everyone suddenly had equal access to care and equal financial resources, would there be any difference, or would behavior patterns remain unchanged?

I would hope we could avoid groupthink and be willing to intelligently and critically evaluate these issues so that the underlying problems can be effectively addressed.

Steven Mull, MD
Rockford, IL

In February, an article published by the American Medical Association pointed out that income inequality is likely the cause for health disparity among races.¹ The topic of health disparities was also the subject of the editorial published in the January/February issue, “Systemic racism and health disparities: a statement from editors of family medicine journals” (J Fam Pract. 2021;70:3-5).

It would be interesting to compare health outcomes among Blacks, Latinos, and Whites stratified by income/poverty levels. I suspect that much of the racial inequality would fade with that. There are so many questions to ask in relation to these issues rather than chalk everything up to racism. Does education, dietary choices, exercise, substance abuse, or cultural priorities factor into the differences? If everyone suddenly had equal access to care and equal financial resources, would there be any difference, or would behavior patterns remain unchanged?

I would hope we could avoid groupthink and be willing to intelligently and critically evaluate these issues so that the underlying problems can be effectively addressed.

Steven Mull, MD
Rockford, IL