Black Canadians at higher risk of dying from HIV, cancer than white people: study

For Black males, the risk of dying from HIV/AIDS was found to be 2.37 times higher, while Black females had a 6.05 times higher risk of dying from HIV/AIDS than white people.

Black Canadians are more likely to die from HIV/AIDS and certain types of cancer than their white counterparts, a new Statistics Canada report has found.

The report published Wednesday analyzed data from Canadian citizens or permanent residents who were aged 19 and older at the time of the 2001, 2006 and 2011 census, followed by a follow-up period until the end of 2019.

According to the report, apart from HIV/AIDS, Black males were at an increased risk of dying from prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus and cerebrovascular diseases.

Black females, meanwhile, were at an increased risk of six causes of death compared to their white counterparts, including HIV/AIDS, stomach cancer, corpus uteri cancer, lymphomas and multiple myeloma, diabetes mellitus and endocrine disorders.

For Black males, the risk of dying from HIV/AIDS was found to be 2.37 times higher than white males, while Black females had a 6.05 times higher risk of dying from HIV/AIDS than white women.

According to the report, the “notable mortality difference” when it comes to HIV/AIDS-related deaths in Black people could be caused by “health inequities, differential antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and treatment delays.”

The report also pointed out that the respondents’ experience with discrimination was “an important health determinant” that was not available and is difficult to measure.

“Other research has shown that Black people are the most likely to experience discrimination, compared with other groups, and that this discrimination is associated with chronic conditions and chronic condition risk factors, such as smoking, binge drinking and infrequent physical activity,” the report said.