Black male prisoners in North Carolina have considerably lower mortality rates than black residents of that State
A study comparing mortality rates between North
Carolina State prisoners and residents has found that
black prisoners have lower mortality rates than black
residents for accidents, homicides, cardiovascular
diseases, and cancer. The number of deaths among
black male prisoners was 48 percent less than expected.
White prisoners, by contrast, had higher mortality rates
for several chronic causes of death but lower rates for
accidents. Overall, the death rate among white male
prisoners was not significantly different than that of
white male residents.
Despite the lower age-adjusted mortality rates among
black prisoners compared to black residents, the
researchers emphasize that their study did not capture
the many possible negative consequences of
imprisonment such as loss of employment opportunities
and broken relationships.
The researchers suggest several ways in which
imprisonment may protect against or contribute to
mortality. The relatively rigid provision of food, shelter,
security, and medical and ancillary services may all
affect mortality in prison. Similar mortality rates across
races may be related to similar exposures to prison
resources and environmental elements. Previous research suggests that the mortality rate of
released white prisoners was about twice that of other
whites in the community, while the mortality rate
among released black prisoners was similar to other
black residents. Also, some previous studies suggest
that some chronic conditions may be less prevalent
among black than white prisoners, and also less than
those of blacks in the general population. In the general
population, both in the United States and in North
Carolina, mortality is approximately 40 percent greater
among the black than the white population.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in
the world, with an estimated 1 in 100 adults behind bars on any given day. A consequence of this mass
incarceration is that prisons have become an important
source of health care for a portion of America's poor.
The study included 120,959 North Carolina prisoners
between the ages of 20 and 79 during the period
1995–2005. The study was supported in part by the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(HS19442).
See "All-cause and cause-specific mortality among
black and white North Carolina state prisoners, 1995-
2005," by David L. Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., David A. Wohl,
M.D., and Victor J. Schoenbach, Ph.D., in the Annals of
Epidemiology 21, pp. 719-726, 2011.
— MWS
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