A report stated that Black Chicagoans are expected to live more than nine fewer years than non-Black residents—and that gap in life expectancy is only growing, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
The Chicago Department of Public Health report presents a grim but probably unsurprising outlook on how inequities in housing, income, healthcare and more have contributed to the disparity in the city.
From 2012 to 2017, the life expectancy gap between Black residents and non-Black residents grew from 8.3 years to 9.2 years, the report found.
Black Chicagoans, on average, live 71.4 years while non-Black residents live 80.6 years. While non-Blacks saw their life expectancy drop by more than three months in those five years, life expectancy dropped for Blacks by more than 14 months.
The 32-page report cites five main factors: chronic diseases, homicide, infant mortality, opioid overdoses and HIV, flu or other infections.
The report, "The State of Health for Blacks in Chicago," indicates the diabetes-related death rate is 70% higher among Black residents than non-Blacks. Homicide rates are nine times higher; Black infants are three times as likely to die in their first year; and the rate of opioid-related overdoses are nearly three times higher for non-Black Chicagoans.
The full article is at tinyurl.com/3ky8rypd .
The report is at tinyurl.com/mt99cra6 .
