Disparities in trends of hospitalization for potentially preventable chronic conditions among African Americans during the 1990s: Implications and benchmarks

Objectives. We compared trends in prevalence rates of preventable cardiovascular- and diabetes-related hospitalizations between African Americans and members of other major US racial/ethnic groups. Methods. Standardized rates for 1991 to 1998 were derived from hospital and US census data for California. Results. African Americans had significantly higher hospitalization rates in 1991, and discrepancies in rates continued to widen through 1998. Overall male and female rates were approximately 3 times higher for angina, 7 times higher for hypertension, between 7 and 8 times higher for congestive heart failure, and 10 times higher for diabetes. Conclusions. Widening disparities in cardiovascular- and diabetes-related health conditions were observed in this study, possibly owing to racial inequalities in provision of effective primary care.