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Health Disparities
Health Risks and Disparities Experienced by Black Youth

The black population in the United States includes a diverse group of
people whose cultures and histories vary tremendously. Although data are
often not collected or reported by subgroup, black populations may vary
widely in their risk levels for different health, social, or educational
problems. This population is sometimes referred to as African American or
black; for simplicity’s sake, the text that follows will use black.
Currently, blacks are the second largest minority group in the United
States following the Hispanic/Latino population. There are continuing
disparities in the burden of illness and death, as well as access to medical
care, experienced by the black population compared with the white population.
Further, compared with white and Hispanic youth, black youth experience
lower rates of some health risk behaviors and higher rates of other health
risk behaviors.
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