The place where 3-year-old Antoine Graves grows into adulthood is likely to determine whether he lives to be very old or dies young, according to a new study. According to a new report entitled Place Matters for Health in Baltimore: Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All, which contains research on health inequities in the city, researchers have concluded, yet again, that health disparities vary by neighborhood. The research shows that disproportionately it is people of color and the poor who live in neighborhoods that are likely to make them sick. The report was produced by the Washington D.C.-based Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank that specializes in issues of interest to African Americans and Equity Matters, Inc. “Forty to 70 percent of the reason people get sick is because of where they live, work and play,” said Michael Scott, chief equity officer and co-founder of Equity Matters, Inc. “The health disparities in Baltimore are caused by the institutional racism embedded in everything from housing to education.” According to the report, the number of years a person is expected to live varied as much as 30 years, depending on whether they lived in a poor or wealthy neighborhood. The study was conducted between 2005 and 2009 and spanned the city. According to the data, the residents with the city’s highest life expectancy—81 to 86 years—live in the Inner Harbor/Federal Hill and Greater Roland Park Poplar areas. The areas with the lowest life expectancy include the Greenmont, Druid Hill and Westport neighborhoods, where people are not expected to live past 63 years old, the report shows.
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