Figure 1 : Interconnections between self-identified race or ethnicity and health status.
The undeniable existence of health disparities indicates that there is a correlation between self-identified race or ethnicity and health or disease in some cases. But this is a complex and poorly understood relationship. On the left side of the diagram, multiple environmental factors that are influenced by race and ethnicity, and that potentially contribute to health disparities, are depicted. On the right side, the potential genetic contribution to health disparities, which operates through a series of proxy relationships, is depicted. To unravel the real causes, research into health disparities must move beyond weakly correlated variables, such as self-identified race or ethnicity, towards an understanding of the more proximate environmental and genetic factors.
