Study: Calif. death rates vary by race

Public health officials aren't quite sure why, but in California, African-Americans are dying earlier than whites, according to a new study. White Californian men are living an average of seven more years than African-American men. Homicides, sadly, account for part of the disparity, but so does heart disease. White women in California live an average of five years longer than African-American women, largely due to higher rates of diabetes and stroke among African-American women. In both cases, these epidemiological trends aren't enough to account for the disparities completely, so there's still some major causal questions to be answered.

Officials with the group backing the study, the Public Policy Institute of California, noted this gap has persisted over time. In fact, a similar gap has been observed nationally since 1900.

To learn more about the study:
- read this Los Angeles Times piece