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Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in Self-reported Health Among U.S. Adults, 2023-2024
Benjamin Grobman1,2, Lois Owolabi3, Michael Liu-Hass4
1Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. benjamingrobman@gmail.com.
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
|July 29, 2026
Summary
Racial and socioeconomic disparities in self-reported health persist in the U.S. Adults with lower socioeconomic status and Black and Hispanic individuals report poorer health outcomes, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Disparities Research
- Socioeconomic Determinants of Health
Background:
- Previous research indicated narrowing racial disparities in self-reported health.
- Concerns exist that these disparities may have widened recently, especially post-COVID-19 pandemic.
- Current data on self-reported health disparities remains limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the current state of disparities in self-reported health among U.S. adults.
- To examine the association of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status with fair or poor self-reported health.
- To stratify analyses by education, income, and health insurance status.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 2023 and 2024 U.S. National Health Interview Survey.
- Employed survey-weighted, age- and sex-adjusted modified Poisson regression models.
- Analyzed associations between race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and self-reported health.
Main Results:
- 14.9% of U.S. adults reported fair or poor health.
- Lower educational attainment and income were significantly associated with higher prevalence of fair/poor health.
- Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic adults reported a higher prevalence of fair/poor health compared to non-Hispanic White adults.
Conclusions:
- Fair or poor self-reported health is more common in adults with lower socioeconomic status and among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic populations.
- Findings emphasize the necessity of policy interventions addressing socioeconomic inequality.
- Addressing structural racism is crucial for improving overall population health outcomes.
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