Demographics |
Whites are people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle
East, or North Africa.1 |
According to the 2000 U.S. Census,
those who identify only as white comprise
approximately 70 percent of the total U.S.
population. |
The Census Bureau projects that by the
year 2060, white Americans will comprise less than 50
percent of the total U.S. population. |
The greatest concentrations of this population are
in the Midwest and Northeast, especially Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Iowa, North Dakota, West Virginia, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado.2 |
White Americans belong to a variety of ethnic groups with distinct
languages, dialects, and cultures. |
Whites represent both extremes of socioeconomic and health status. Some
white families have been in the United States
for many generations; others are recent immigrants. |
Statistics |
The
White Population,
2000 (pdf) US Census Bureau Brief |
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10 Leading Causes of Death
White
Population,
U.S., 2005 |
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Statistics |
Leading Causes of Death by Race/Ethnicity (pdf)
Health,
U.S., 2007, Table 31 |
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Other
High Prevalence Health Issues |
In addition, white Americans
have disproportionately high prevalence of the following conditions and
risk factors: |
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Health
Disparities |
The health status of white Americans is often used
as the “baseline” against which other racial and ethnic groups are
measured. However, whites experience many of the same
health problems as other groups. |
Factors that contribute to
poor health outcomes among whites include lack of access to health care and lack of health insurance. |
For more information on
some of the health disparities faced by the white community click below for slides and
statistics on that topic. |
Statistics |
Mortality Rates by Race/Ethnicity, (pdf) Health,
U.S., 2006, Table 29 |
Mid Course Review, Healthy People 2010 |
Data 2010, Healthy People 2010 |
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Slides |
|
Slides showing Disparity (ppt)
PowerPoint Presentation on the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities
(OMHD) containing data slides (beginning with slide 21) comparing U.S. incidence
or mortality rates by race/ethnicity.
To view these slides in PDF format, see
Slides
(PDF) |
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Health Statistics |
CDC's National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS) |
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Health of
White Population, Fast Stats |
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Health Data for All Ages |
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Health, United States, 2006 |
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Mortality Rates by Race/Ethnicity, (pdf) Table 29 |
|
Leading
Causes of Death by Race/Ethnicity, (pdf) Table 31 |
|
Healthy People 2010 |
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Data 2010 |
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Mid Course Review |
U.S. Census Bureau |
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The
White Population,
Brief, 2000 (pdf) |
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Government Resources |
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CDC |
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National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention
(NCHSTP) |
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Office of Health Disparities, NCHSTP |
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Division of HIV/AIDS
Prevention |
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National Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) |
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National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
(NCIPC) |
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National Immunization
Program (NIP) |
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National Institutes of Health (NIH) |
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Cancer Health Disparities National Cancer
Institute (NCI) |
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) |
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National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS) |
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National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) |
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SAMHSA (Mental Health) |
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Mental Health
SAMHSA Surgeon General's Report |
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Non-Government Resources |
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Alzheimer's
Association |
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American Cancer Society (ACS) |
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Americans Diabetes
Association (ADA) |
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American Heart Association
(AHA) |
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American Lung Association (ALA) |
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National SIDS Resource Center
(NSRC) |
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Funding |
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CDC Funding Opportunities |
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Sources |
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1
Census Bureau, Census 2000 Brief: Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin,
2000.(pdf) |
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2
The
White Population,
2000 (pdf) US Census Bureau Brief |
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Notes |
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Census 2000 adheres to the federal standards for
collecting and presenting data on race and Hispanic origin as established
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in October 1997
and subsequent guidelines. One of the
most important changes for Census 2000 was the revision of the questions
on race and Hispanic origin to better reflect the country’s growing
diversity. The federal government considers race and Hispanic origin to be
two separate and distinct concepts. In addition, Asian
Americans and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders are
counted as two separate and distinct racial groups. Because of these changes, the Census
2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from the 1990
census or earlier censuses. Caution must be used when interpreting changes
in the racial composition of the U.S. population over time. |
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Census Bureau Glossary of Terms: Race, 2000. |
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Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Provisional Guidance on the
Implementation of the 1997 Standards for Federal Data on Race and
Ethnicity, 2000. |
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Office of Management and Budget Recommendations from the Interagency
Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards to the
Office of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to the Standards
for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, 1997. |
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