Study: St. Louis African Americans’ Health Problems Linked To Poverty and Lack Of Education

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A disproportionate number of African Americans in St. Louis live in poverty and lack a high school education. African-American St. Louisans also have a higher death rate than white St. Louisans. According to a multi-disciplinary study currently under way in St. Louis, there is a connection between the two trends.

Researchers from Washington University and Saint Louis University recently released the first of five planned briefs on their study on the heath and well-being of African Americans in St. Louis. The study brief estimates 280 African-American St. Louisans died due to poverty in 2011. Lack of a high school education is attributed to another 237 deaths.

“We know that these factors, like education and economic status, do have an impact on health outcomes. Sometimes a larger impact than even health insurance or medical care,” said Jason Purnell, the author of the first brief released by the study. He is an assistant professor in the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

A person’s neighborhood can have a profound effect on his or her health by influencing choices like what to eat and whether to exercise, added Keon Gilbert, assistant professor in the College for Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University.

If the neighborhood is unsafe, people are less likely to go out for a run. Likewise, if there isn’t a full grocery store nearby, people are more likely to eat unhealthy foods.

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