Researchers are finding links between racial discrimination and long-term health
FOR DECADES, it has been one of the most vexing questions facing researchers: Why do white people have such a health advantage over racialized groups in North America?
In 1985, a United States government task force showed that African Americans not only suffered more serious medical problems but black men were also dying an average of six years earlier than their white counterparts. Since the report’s release, dozens of studies have revealed similar disparities involving other minorities, including Indigenous people, Asian people, and Hispanic people. In the US, breast cancer rates among Korean and Southeast Asian women have been increasing faster than among any other group, and Hispanic people die at higher rates from chronic liver disease. While race-based health information isn’t collected or made available in Canada in a systematic way, we do know, according to a 2016 survey, that immigrant black women have higher odds of hypertension than immigrant white women.
This story is from the March 2018 edition of The Walrus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2018 edition of The Walrus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.
The Upside-Down Book
In her new novel, Rachel Cusk makes the case for becoming a stranger to yourself
Pick a Colour
BACK HERE, I can hear a group of women trickle in. Filling the floor with giggles and voices.
Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy
Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity
The Briefcase
What I learned about being a writer from trying to finish a dead man's book
In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It
Thousands have died trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Each year, activists follow their harrowing trek
Blood Language
Menstruation ties us to the land in ways we've all but forgotten
Dream Machines
The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
Invisible Lives
Without immigration status, Canada's undocumented youth stay in the shadows
My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"