Racial Health Inequities Persist Even Among Very High Income African Americans, LaVeist’s Research Shows


March 1, 2017

A study led by Health Policy and Management Professor and Chair Thomas LaVeist investigated racial and ethnic disparities in health status and behaviors among persons with very high income of $175,000 or above per year. His group’s findings, published in Preventive Medicine, revealed health disparities in 10 of 16 health-related outcomes. African Americans were most dissimilar to whites at this income level, compared to other ethnic groups, with disadvantages on 6 health outcomes relative to whites.

“Our findings indicate that income does not fully explain racial/ethnic disparities in health,” the research team wrote.  The researcher suggested that public health interventions be targeted to African Americans and other minority individuals of very high income, as well as to low-income individuals.

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