• Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Lifestyle

It's National Minority Health Month. These Are The Conditions Affecting Black Women The Most.

In light of National Minority Health Month, we look into the health concerns of Black women that are still too often being overlooked and underestimated.
It’s National Minority Health Month. These Are The  Conditions Affecting Black Women The Most.
By Aley Arion · Updated April 6, 2022

April marks the start of National Minority Health Month (NMHM), a time of year dedicated to boosting awareness around the health disparities and illnesses that disproportionately impact individuals of racial and ethnic minority groups. 

With origins dating back to 1915 when Booker T. Washington established National Negro Health Week, this month is dedicated to educating our community on proper health equity, encouraging early detection practices like screenings and check-ups for disease prevention, and spotlighting healthcare initiatives and programs that provide resources for healthy lifestyle options. 

In the effort to raise awareness around the health issues that impact our community, we’ve put together a list of some of the often overlooked or most pressing health conditions and diseases that impact Black women and our community at large. 

Heart Disease

Currently, heart disease is the leading cause of death for Black women in the U.S. and according to cardiologist, Dr. LaPrincess Brewer, this is a direct result of the lack of awareness around the condition, “Each year, more African American women die from heart disease than breast cancer, lung cancer and strokes combined, which makes heart disease the No. 1 killer of African American women in our nation,” she shared in a Mayo Clinic report. “However, studies have also revealed that less than half of African American women are aware that heart disease is their No. 1 cause of death.”

Heart disease is shown to come in many forms such as clogged arteries, heart failure and stroke, which can be linked to other health factors like obesity, hypertension and diabetes that can increase the risk of developing these conditions.

Dr. Brewer also shared in the study how preexisting health disparities that impact the Black community reflect the source of these issues. “Unfortunately, African American women are faced with an overwhelmingly high burden of negative social determinants of health, and these include chronic stress related to factors like food insecurity, systemic racism, the wealth gap, and socioeconomically disenfranchised communities. These challenges really prevent African American women from following a healthy lifestyle and controlling many of the heart disease risk factors.”

Cancer

In the U.S., Black Americans are reported by the Office of Minority Health Resource Center to have the highest “mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined and for most major cancers.” Between 2014 and 2018, studies showed that while Black American women were just as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer to non-Hispanic white women, they are almost 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white women. While these numbers are jarring, they speak to a wider issue in the disparities that result in health outcomes from one group of people to another.

Suicide 

In 2019, suicide became the second leading cause of death for Black Americans, ages 15 to 24, with socioeconomic factors such as poverty levels, which disproportionately impact the mental well-being of Black women and youth. As we’ve seen from the untimely passing of public figures like Miss USA 2019, Cheslie Kryst, the space for dialogue around mental health is still crucial. 

A 2021 research study found that there was a 30 percent increase in the suicide rates among Black people in the U.S., while rates among white people saw a decline in that same time period.

According to a 2021 study by the CDC, rates of anxiety and depression among people of color increased from 2020 to 2021. The data found that between January and February 2021, nearly 45 percent of the Black participants reported having experienced episodes of depression or anxiety.

Diabetes 

More than 37 million Americans live with diabetes and studies have found that Black women are more often impacted by type 2 diabetes than any other racial group. Diabetes had been linked to other health complications such as kidney damage, heart disease, and can worsen the symptoms of COVID-19.  

A study by The Black Women’s Health Imperative Agenda found that Black adults “are 60% more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes — and twice as likely to die of the condition.” 

While type 2 diabetes is a common condition among Black women, we can be comforted by the fact that with proper measures, exercise and healthy eating, it can be prevented. Dr. Angela Ford, Chief Programs Officer at the Black Women’s Health Imperative, says they can help. “There are thousands of Black women who can actually make the necessary changes to prevent [type 2 diabetes] and potentially save their lives if they have access to the opportunity, resources, and support offered through our lifestyle change program,” she tells ESSENCE. Although these health conditions may run in our families and can be attached to generations of going undiagnosed, Dr. Ford assures women that even if diabetes is a part of one’s family health history, it doesn’t have to be your destiny.

How to take action and advocate for your health.

Tammy Boyd, MPH, JD, Chief Policy Officer and Counsel for the Black Women’s Health Imperative shares that closing the gap between health disparities comes through presenting Black women with the full realm of options that are available to them. “There still needs to be a lot of education and awareness about participating in clinical trials and why it’s important for us to do that,” she tells ESSENCE. “A lot of times, we hear about these studies out there and [Black women] aren’t even offered participation in clinical trials for proper treatment options. But a lot of doctors haven’t been pushed to empower Black women to ask, ‘what is the complete tip continuum of health options for me?’”

Additionally, while it’s important for patients to feel empowered to advocate for themselves, doctors must also have the proper education on how to engage, speak to, and care for their Black patients given their cultural backgrounds in order to combat implicit biases.

“For doctors, how do you engage with a multicultural community?” Boyd asks. “Make sure that we have health providers who look like the people who actually come into your office and can speak to them in a way that they understand.”

TOPICS:  health and wellness National Minority Health Month women’s health
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now