Chronic Liver Disease and African Americans

Among African Americans, chronic liver disease is a leading cause of death. While the cause is not always known, some cases can be initiated by conditions such as chronic alcoholism, obesity, and exposure to Hepatitis B and C viruses.

In 2009, chronic liver disease was the eighth leading cause of death for non-Hispanic Blacks, 45-54 years old. ¹
African American men are 70% more likely to have liver and IBD cancer than non-Hispanic White men.
African American women are 1.4 times more likely to die from liver and IBD cancer than non-Hispanic White women.

At a glance – Cancer Rates for African Americans (2005-2009):

**Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Men**
Cancer	African American Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	African American/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	627.1	564.7	1.1
Liver & IBD*	14.9	8.8	1.7

**Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Women**
Cancer	African American Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	African American/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites	398.3	439.0	0.9
Liver & IBD*	4.4	2.9	1.5

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct

Source: NCI 2012. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2009. Tables 2.15, and 14.15 http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/results_single/sect_02_table.15.pdf [PDF | 11KB]
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/results_single/sect_14_table.15.pdf [PDF | 11KB]

At a glance – Diagnosed:

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who have been told by a doctor that they have chronic liver disease, 2010**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
1.4	1.3	1.1

Source: CDC 2012. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2010. Table 8.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_252.pdf[PDF | 1.5MB]

At a glance – Death Rate:

**Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men (2005-2009)**
Cancer	African American Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	African American/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Liver & IBD*	11.9	7.0	1.7

**Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Women (2005-2009)**
Cancer	African American Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	African American/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Liver & IBD*	4.0	2.9	1.4

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct

Source: NCI 2012. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2009. Tables 14.15
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2009_pops09/results_single/sect_14_table.15.pdf [PDF | 11KB]

**Age-Adjusted Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis Death Rates per 100,000 (2009)**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
7.1	9.1	0.7

Source: CDC 2012. Deaths: Final Data for 2009. Table 16 and Table 17
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_03.pdf [PDF | 2MB]

¹CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)
http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal.html

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Content Last Modified: 8/24/2012 10:01:00 AM

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