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Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, are projected to see the highest increase in chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the next two decades as part of an epidemiological transition. Although this trend of increasing NCDs is occurring in what may seem a world away, these changing morbidity and mortality patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa have implications for health patterns in the United States (U.S.). Foreign-born Africans represent one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the U.S. How is the growing heterogeneity within the U.S. black population impacting our understanding of and response to racial and ethnic health disparities in chronic non-communicable conditions? This paper examines the impact of black immigrants on the chronic health experiences of U.S. residents over the course of a decade. Using ten waves of the National Health Interview Survey (2003-2012), I compare the non-communicable health experiences of African-born immigrants, Caribbean/Latin American born-blacks, native-born non-Hispanic, native-born Hispanic blacks, and native-born non-Hispanic whites. Focusing on conditions such as diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension, and stroke, I develop three types of models: one examining differences by race only, one examining differences by race and ethnicity, and one examining differences by race, ethnicity, and nativity. I find significant differences among these models that help clarify the impact of black immigration on NCD disparities. Implications for research and policy are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populations throughout the world have tackled changing patterns of disease and mortality for centuries. Researchers as well as policymakers attempting to make sense of these changes have often looked to demographic and epidemiological transition theories and to help explain these transitions and to help guide policies and interventions. Although the demographic and epidemiological transition theories have prompted scholars to put forth and test countless hypotheses and to frame challenges inherent in addressing changing mortality patterns, scholars have been much more reticent to theorize on whether and how health inequities impact mortality transitions. Given the growth in data and evidence from developed and developing countries since the articulation of the demographic and epidemiologic transition theories, the time seems ripe to focus attention on inequities in mortality transitions. In this paper, we focus on both developed and developing countries to investigate the role income inequalities play in mortality transitions. Specifically, we investigate differences in life expectancy from communicable and noncommunicable diseases across high income, upper middle income, lower middle income, and low income countries in 2000 and 2009 before examining whether income inequality (measured by the Gini coefficient) has an impact on the transition to lower mortality from communicable diseases for a select number of countries worldwide. Additionally, we present a new framework that prioritizes socioeconomic equity as a pathway to longevity within and across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the growing double burden of disease from the coexistence of communicable and noncommunicable diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this paper investigated mortality in Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, and Kenya in relation to the epidemiological transition. Using life table techniques, we demonstrate the magnitude and toll of the double burden by assessing the change in life expectancy from the absence of communicable or noncommunicable diseases in these countries for the year 2009. Eliminating communicable diseases increased life expectancy at birth by 11.63 years in Ghana, 14.01 years in Kenya, 18.44 years in Cameroon, and 20.59 years in South Africa. Eliminating noncommunicable diseases increased life expectancy at birth by 10.22 years in Ghana, 14.15 years in Kenya, 16.57 years in Cameroon, and 8.46 years in South Africa. Further, when dichotomized by sex, the increase in life expectancy from removing communicable diseases was 1.05 times the increase of eliminating noncommunicable diseases for females and 1.21 for males in Ghana; 0.86 times the increase of eliminating noncommunicable diseases for females, but 1.42 times for males in Cameroon; 3.18 times the increase of removing noncommunicable diseases for females and 3.26 times for males in South Africa; 1.08 times the increase of eliminating noncommunicable diseases for females, but 0.90 times for males in Kenya. Our findings suggest that noncommunicable and communicable diseases warrant equal attention and resources, and caution over-reliance on descriptive constructs like the epidemiological transition framework to explain and prioritize policies and programs in combatting life-threatening diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]