Temporal trend in the U.S. black-white disparity in mortality rates from selected alcohol-related chronic diseases

The disparities between the U.S. African American (black)-white mortality rates for liver cirrhosis are often cited in the literature, but disparities in mortality from other chronic diseases largely attributable to alcohol have received less attention. This study analyzes U.S. age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) for those 25 years old or more for a 25-year period (1979-2003) for blacks and whites by gender for certain chronic diseases entirely attributable to alcohol and for certain cancers with a large fraction attributable to alcohol. Declines in ASMRs were much larger for blacks than whites, and black-white disparities disappeared for alcoholic gastritis, as also previously reported to alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. Substantial disparities remained in 2003, at much lower ASMRs than in the past, for males for alcoholic cardiomyopathy, chronic pancreatitis, and cancers of the oral cavity-pharynx, which may reflect black-white disparities in risk factors (other than alcohol) and in medical care.