Mortality among minority populations: a review of recent patterns and trends.

The mortality experiences of blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics are reviewed. Evidence recently made available shows the Hispanic experience to be only slightly less favorable than the Anglo (other white) experience, suggesting remarkable progress in recent years. Native Americans have also made remarkable progress in recent years, especially in reducing infant mortality. Blacks have shown less improvement than the other two groups. Reasons for these trends, for differences among the groups in mortality rates and life expectancy, and for patterns of mortality by cause are discussed.