Prometheus 6

...HIV/AIDS isn't killing as many people as it did back then because of advances in treatment and public awareness about the spread of the disease.

One interesting similarity between the two studies is that Latinos in San Francisco are healthier than would be predicted by their socioeconomic status, Aragon said.

"It's something that's observed and true, but nobody's actually figured out why," he said. "It may be stronger family and social networks and, in general, a better diet."

Aragon said that another fact that jumped out at him is that African Americans lose more years of life to just about all the top causes of death - including heart disease, strokes, various cancers, drug overdoses, alcohol abuse disorders and diabetes - than city residents of other races. White residents lose more years of life to suicide and colon cancer than African Americans.

 

San Francisco tracks biggest killers of its ethnic groups
Heather Knight, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, August 24, 2007

African Americans living in San Francisco lose more years of life to just about every possible cause of death than city residents of other racial backgrounds, and violence robs African American men of more years of life than any other cause of death.

Latinos and Asian Americans living in the city, on the other hand, are faring comparatively well - generally losing fewer years of life expectancy than white residents.

And heart disease leads to the most years of life lost among Asian Americans, whites, African American women and Latino women, while HIV/AIDS steals the most years of life from Latino men.

These are some of the findings of a new report by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which analyzed death certificates of all San Francisco residents who died in 2003 and 2004, the most recent available.