2009 Health Disparities Report – Connecticut Department of Public Health
1. In 2000–2004, heart disease was the leading cause of death in Connecticut. Black or Afri-
can American Connecticut residents had the highest death rate from heart disease, about 1.2
times higher than that of White residents. American Indians or Alaska Natives had similar
heart disease death rates as Whites. Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander residents had
lower heart disease death rates compared with White residents (0.7 and 0.4 times the death
rate of Whites, respectively).
2. In 2000–2004, cancer was the second leading cause of death in Connecticut. Black or Afri-
can American Connecticut residents had the highest death rate from cancer, about 1.1 times
higher than that of White residents. Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian
or Pacific Islander residents had lower cancer death rates compared with White residents.
3. In 2000–2004, cerebrovascular disease or stroke was the third leading cause of death in
Connecticut. Black or African American Connecticut residents had the highest death rate
from stroke, about 1.4 times higher than that of White residents. Hispanic and Asian or Pa-
cific Islander residents had lower stroke death rates compared with White residents (0.8 and
0.5 times the death rate of Whites, respectively).
4. Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in Connecticut in 2000–2004. Black or Af-
rican American Connecticut residents had the highest death rate from diabetes, about 2.5
times higher than that of White residents. Hispanics had about 1.5 times the death rate from
diabetes compared with Whites.
5. In 2005, Black or African American Connecticut residents had the highest hospitalization
rate for diabetes and lower-extremity amputations of all racial and ethnic groups, with 3.8
times the hospitalization rate of White residents for both conditions. Hispanics had 2.3
times the rate of diabetes and 3.1 times the rate of lower extremity hospitalizations com-
pared with Whites.
6. In 2004–2006, lower-income adults in Connecticut were much less likely to obtain recom-
mended screening tests for certain types of cancers compared with those of higher income.
Low-income women were less likely to receive a recommended mammogram in the past
two years and a recommended Pap test in the past three years compared with higher-income
women.
7. Diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS for 2001–2005 were most prevalent in persons of Hispanic
origin and Blacks. These groups experienced 7.4 and 6.6 times the rates of HIV/AIDS di-
agnoses as Whites, respectively.
8. The incidence rates of invasive pneumococcal disease in Connecticut among Blacks and
Hispanics were three and two times that of Whites, respectively, during 2001–2005.
9. The infant mortality rate (IMR) is a key measure of population health status. Between
2001–2005, the Connecticut IMR was 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births. During this time, the
IMR for White infants was 3.9, while for Black or African American infants, the IMR was
13.0, and for Hispanics, it was 6.5 per 1,000 live births.
10. There were statistically significant differences between the White kindergarten and third
grade students’ oral health screening results and that of racial and ethnic minority children.
Hispanic children had the largest percentage of tooth decay experience (49.3%), followed
by African American (42.8%) and Asian students (42.0%). Among the White children sur-
veyed, 28.9% had experienced tooth decay.
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