John Elflein
Research expert covering health and health care
Hispanic health - Statistics & Facts
Hispanic Americans or Latino Americans are the second largest ethnic group in the United States and include those Americans who are descended from Spain, Portugal, or the Spanish or Portuguese-speaking countries of Latin America. Hispanic Americans are faced with the same health problems as all other Americans to greater and lesser degrees. In 2020, the leading cause of death for Hispanics was COVID-19, followed by heart disease and cancer. In comparison, the leading causes of death in the U.S. that year overall were heart disease and cancer, while COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death. In 2020, COVID-19 accounted for 21 percent of all deaths among Hispanics in the United States, while heart disease and cancer accounted for 16 and 14 percent of deaths, respectively. The risk of developing heart disease and cancer can be decreased through a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise, a healthy diet, and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol use. However, obesity, a risk factor for both heart disease and cancer, is a growing problem among Hispanics in the United States. The states with the highest share of Hispanics who are obese are Mississippi, South Dakota, and West Virginia, where over 40 percent of the Hispanic population is obese.
Cancer among Hispanics
Cancer is among the leading causes of death among Hispanics in the United States and the chances of developing some form of cancer are high. It is estimated that Hispanic men have a 37 percent probability of developing cancer at some point in their life, with this probability just slightly lower for Hispanic women. The most common form of cancer among Hispanic men is prostate cancer, with an estimated 17,600 new cases in 2021. The most common form of cancer among Hispanic women is breast cancer, followed by uterine corpus cancer. In 2021, there were around 22,700 deaths from cancer among Hispanic women, of which, breast cancer accounted for 3,100 deaths.Mental health
Concerning mental health, an estimated 21 percent of the Hispanic population suffered from some mental illness in the past year as of 2021. Major depressive episodes are more common among younger Hispanics although the share of Hispanics in the U.S. who reported a major depressive episode in the past year has increased for all age groups in recent years. The share of Hispanics and Latinos who had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year has also increased, but fortunately so has the percentage who have received mental health treatment or counseling.Health insurance coverage among Hispanics
Access to health insurance and health care remains an issue for many Hispanics in the United States. In 2022, a shocking 21 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. did not have health insurance, double the national average. In 2022, Hispanic children accounted for around 41 percent of all children who did not have health insurance in the United States. At that time around 1.6 million Hispanic children in the U.S. did not have health insurance.
