Excess Deaths Among Black Americans

A recent study found excess mortality and years of potential life lost among the US Black population, highlighting the pervasiveness and cost of health disparities in America. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased racial disparities in life expectancy. Life expectancy in the US, including for children, has declined for the second year.

The Associated Press produced a five-part series on the impact of racism on Black Americans’ health across a lifetime, from increased rates of childhood asthma to Alzheimer’s. A recent KFF Health News article addresses the high rates of Black infant mortality in the South.