Black men suffer far worse health than any other racial group in America. There are a number of reasons for this. They include racial discrimination, a lack of affordable health services, poor health education, cultural barriers, poverty, employment that does not carry health insurance, insufficient medical and social services catering for Black men.

• The life expectancy for a Black male child born in 2004 is 69.5 years, compared with 75.7 years for White males born the same year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

• Black men are more likely to get and die from prostate cancer than men of any other racial or ethnic group in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• A Black man has a 1-in-5 chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime and a 1-in-20 chance of dying from the disease.

• Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for Black men, behind lung cancer.

• About 42 percent of Black men have high blood pressure, compared with 31 percent of White men, according to the American Heart Association.

• Cardiovascular disease overall was also more prevalent among Black men — 41 percent, compared with about 34 percent of White men.

• 45 percent of African American men do not have a doctor they see regularly.

• 28 percent of African Americans are uninsured, compared to 17 percent of Whites

The relationship between diabetes and heart disease should not be ignored, according to an expert at Baylor College of Medicine.
“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with diabetes, and diabetes is the leading cause of heart disease in America,” said Dr. Alan Garber, professor of medicine in the section of endocrinology at BCM.

African-Americans are especially at risk. The Office of Minority Health reports African-American adults are less likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease, however they are more likely to die from heart disease.

In fact, in 2006, African-American men were 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease, as compared to non-Hispanic White men.
Additionally, the Office of Minority Health reports African-Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as non-Hispanic Whites. Although African-Americans have the same or lower rate of high cholesterol as their non-Hispanic White counterparts, they are more likely to have high blood pressure.
To reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, patients with diabetes must maintain an exceptionally low level of LDL cholesterol, the “bad” cholesterol, and a lower target blood pressure.

To do this, they must incorporate a heart healthy diet with their diabetes diet of low calories and sugars. A heart healthy diet includes reducing saturated fats.
“Maintaining cholesterol and blood pressure levels is a must for patients with diabetes, “Garber said. “It’s critical that they get hold of this.”
Garber also says that medication is key in helping control diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure.

“Diet and exercise help, but statin drugs should be used to help control high cholesterol, and medication for high blood pressure should also be taken,” said Garber.
Garber recommends checking with your physician before starting an exercise routine, and working closely with the physician to develop a treatment plan.
In terms of diabetes, Garber says that by the time someone is diagnosed with the disease, they only have half of their pancreatic insulin secretion capacity, so medication is required for what the pancreas can no longer do.

For nearly two decades, Jennifer Jones Austin dedicated herself to her career as an attorney in the private and public sectors. Although the lure of big money as a corporate attorney danced in her head, social issues concerning children and families tugged at her heart. Her passion allowed her to enhance the lives of thousands of the disenfranchised across New York State, and even today at 41-years-old, she embodies enough beauty and grace that she could easily be mistaken for a former America’s Next Top Model pageant winner.



JENNIFER AUSTIN...
“Just days before I was walking around feeling fine,
taking care of my family, going to the gym daily, and
working professionally as an advocate for children and
families living in poverty.  I had no medical history of
health problems.  Things were good.”

Five years ago, Janice Billingsley of HealthDay, wrote in an article “Blacks more prone to Alzheimer’s,” that  “Alzheimer’s disease is a silent epidemic striking Black Americans, who seem more susceptible to the brain-wasting condition than any other group of Americans.” She went on to state, “One possible explanation: Black Americans are at greater risk of vascular disease, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. And studies have found that people with a history of either high blood pressure or high cholesterol are twice as likely to succumb to Alzheimer’s disease.”


Annie McClenton stands with her 79-year-old father James McClenton
at the Hudson Manor Health Care Center. Last year, McClenton, suffering
from Alzheimers’s disease gave his family a scare when he walked out of
a gated nursing home and got more than a mile away before being stopped.             
                                                     Photo by Conner Jay Jersey Journal Photo             

For many African-Americans, excessive, long-term

stress is often a major contributing factor in the

development or exacerbation of many serious health

conditions and illnesses such as anxiety, depression,

high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, diabetes,

ulcers, and infertility.
No matter how much they earn or where they live,

stress is a burden that seems to weigh down far too

many African Americans. The hazardous level of

stress faced by African Americans is keeping their

bodies constantly on edge causing their health and

mental wellness to be at risk. This Black History Month,

wellness advocates, Mental Health America of Greater

Houston and the Houston Wellness Association are

encouraging African Americans to take better care of

their health by managing their stress—in their personal

lives and at work.

No matter how much they earn or where they live, stress is a burden that seems to weigh down far too many African Americans. The hazardous level of stress faced by African Americans is keeping their bodies constantly on edge causing their health and mental wellness to be at risk.  This Black History Month, wellness advocates, Mental Health America of Greater Houston and the Houston Wellness Association are encouraging African Americans to take better care of their health by managing their stress—in their personal lives and at work. 

 

“Stress is a normal response and the body’s way of protecting you,” said Betsy Schwartz, president and CEO of Mental Health America of Greater Houston. “When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert.”

 

According to Schwartz, not all stress is harmful to your health.  A little stress motivates and helps you to meet challenges, but prolonged stress can stop being helpful and can start causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life.

AUSTIN- Local residents can be tested for the HIV virus, and other sexually transmitted infections and have the chance to learn more about health care services at a free event sponsored by the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department. The event will be held Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., HIV/STD Testing from 10a.m.-11:30 and 12:30-4p.m. at the Montopolis Recreation Center 1200 Montopolis Drive in Austin.
The event and testing are free to the public.
For more information call (512)972-5631 or (512)972-5634.

February 7 has been dubbed National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. As the nation draws attention to the plight of African-Americans in the battle to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, perhaps the question will arise, “What about the children?”

HOUSTON- Ask any African-American and they can probably rattle off the top 10 leading illnesses that affect Blacks as well as another ethnic groups: 1. Heart Disease 2. Cancer  3. Stroke 4. Diabetes 5. Obesity 6. Infant mortality (SIDS) 7. High Blood Pressure (hypertension) 8. HIV/AIDS 9. Chronic respiratory disease and 10. Kidney disease. However, there is another disease that has been around a long time, and is leaving its mark on African-Americans— although even the ones who have heard of it, don’t know much about it.

Gone are the days when teens passed love notes in class. Today’s adolescents have taken their notes electronic, in a form of flirting know as “sexting” that can have unwanted and even dangerous outcomes, according to an expert on teen sexual health at Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu).
Sexting refers to sending sexually explicit text messages and photographs over a cell phone. Teens also use social media sites like Facebook and Myspace as well as instant messaging to communicate things of a sexual nature.
“This is a practice that sets young people up for consequences that they may not be emotionally ready to handle,” said Dr. Peggy Smith, director of the Baylor Teen Health Clinic (www.teenhealthclinic.org). “Teens need to realize that once they send something by text or into cyber space, it’s there forever and they no longer have control over it.”
Even though sexting is usually done innocently – perhaps as a “present” for a boyfriend or girlfriend – the person who sends the information cannot count on it being kept confidential. The sender could also become the victim of blackmail or cyberstalking.
“Sexting should become a routine part of parents’ conversation with their children about sexual health, along with topics like sexually transmitted infections and condom use, Smith said. Teens use technology to research important sexual health information, Smith noted, but sexting represents the dark side of modern technology.

Chicago-based Access Community Health Network, along with lead sponsor, the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Mary Fallin (R-OK), as well as co-sponsors the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the House Cancer Caucus held a Pin-A-Sister™/Examinate Comadre™ pinning ceremony, which was unveiled by Donna Thompson, at a breakfast last month in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building.The ACCESS-led Pin-A-Sister™/Examinate Comadre™ campaign is an initiative that was launched in Illinois in 2007.
This campaign has now expanded to seven states, including Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, West Virginia and South Carolina.