These Are The Health Conditions That Black Women Disproportionately Suffer From

For years, Black women have been underrepresented in the medical world, but they have suffered the brunt of medical anomalies compared to other races. Here is a list of health conditions that Black women disproportionately suffer from.

Compared to 5.4% of white women who are diagnosed with diabetes in their lifetime, Black women are diagnosed at a 9.9% rate, according to data gathered from The Centers for Disease Control And Prevention. 

According to reports, 1 out of 365 Black babies is annually diagnosed with this ailment. This rare blood disorder is a lifelong ailment that happens when a person’s hemoglobin structure is abnormal. People with this ailment have a C-shaped farming tool sickle instead of a regular, circular shape.

In a conversation with SELF, Adrienne Phillips, M.D., an oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian, told SELF that Black women have a higher chance of breast cancer because various factors come to play to make it happen. According to Phillips, the reason why Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer because of “an interplay between genetics, biology and environment.”

Cervical cancer is a disease that primarily affects Black women, compared to other races. According to research, Black women are more likely to die from cervical cancer complications than other races. According to a study by Cornell, prior estimates stated that 5.7 Black women per 100,000 would die of the disease, but new research has put the number at a whopping 10.1 per 100,000.

Uterine fibroids are a condition that creates noncancerous tumors in the uterus and can vary in size. Although some women with fibroids don’t have symptoms, others have significant bleeding, pain, anemia, and pregnancy complications. Black women are often hit hardest by fibroids and are usually diagnosed three times as frequently as white women with severe symptoms.