Cause of Disparity in Rate of Years of Potential Life Lost African-American vs White (not Latino), Female

While cancer is the leading cause of premature mortality for African-American women, heart disease is a larger driver of disparity due to the much higher YPLL rate than non-Latina white women. The breakdown below looks quite different than the male version, primarily because of the reduced, but still significant, prevalence of homicide. It is also important to note that the magnitude of the overall YPLL disparity is much smaller for men than women, so while heart disease accounts for a larger portion of the overall disparity for women (27 percent vs. 21 percent for men), the magnitude of the heart disease disparity is smaller for women (736 YPLL vs. 1,038 for men). The largest contributors to the ‘other’ category of disparity are: congenital and chromosomal disorders; flu & pneumonia; and ill-defined/unknown cause of death.