This National Minority Health Month, take the time to learn about the screenings that matter most for you and your family.

You eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly to avoid health problems and chronic conditions. However, some risk factors—such as race and gender—cannot be controlled.

Your ethnicity and gender could elevate your risk for the following conditions—so be sure to discuss your screening needs with your primary care provider.

  • Diabetes. African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, American Indians, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Asian-Americans are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, which raises a person’s risk for stroke and heart attacks.
  • High blood pressure. African-Americans develop high blood pressure more often and at an earlier age than both Caucasians and Hispanics.
  • Heart disease. While heart disease is the leading cause of death for all ethnicities, African-American men are 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic white men.
  • Cancer. The death rate for all cancers is 32 percent higher in African-American men and 16 percent higher in African-American women when compared to whites. Asian-American women have the lowest breast cancer screening rate of any segment of the population and are twice as likely to die from stomach cancer.
  • Stroke. American Indians, Alaska Natives and African-Americans are more likely to have a stroke than other groups, and blacks are more likely to die following a stroke than whites.

The good news is that each condition or its precursors can be detected before debilitating problems arise. Talk with your physician about your family history and other risk factors, including race, to develop a screening schedule that is right for you.

To find a primary care physician near you, visit parkridgehealth.com/physicians.