The Southwest Bronx

Just a few decades ago, the Southwest Bronx was among the most challenged and neglected neighborhoods in New York. Yet, a core of people would not let that stand. The community struggled to rebuild. Today, life has improved for its 280,000 diverse residents. But, many people in the Southwest Bronx live much sicker and die much younger than they should. There is still a lot of work to do in the Southwest Bronx. Health statistics point to the challenges that people continue to face as they struggle with heart disease, diabetes, asthma, obesity and the effects of high blood pressure, and cancer, and HIV/AIDS. Bronx Health REACH has focused its efforts on diabetes care and prevention.

Community Demographics

  • There are 280,000 residents in the REACH target area.
  • 95% are black and Latino, including African-Americans, Caribbean-Americans, and new immigrants from Africa, Central and South America.
  • The Bronx is the poorest urban county in the country – 50% of Bronx households include young children living below the poverty level.
  • The residents suffer from high rates of HIV/AIDS, asthma, diabetes, obesity, and depression.
  • The South Bronx has one of the highest rates of residents diagnosed with diabetes (16%), compared to the Bronx (12%), New York City (9%), and state and national rates which are under 8%.

Prevalence of Diabetes in NYC

  • The South Bronx has the highest prevalence rate for obesity (27%) compared to 25% for the Bronx as a whole, and 21% for New York City.
  • Black men are more likely to get prostate cancer, and the death rate from prostate cancer for the Southwest Bronx is 50% greater than that of NYC as a whole.
  • People in the Southwest Bronx are twice as likely to have hypertension as the population of NYC as a whole. Stroke causes 50% more deaths in the Southwest Bronx than in NYC overall.
  • Residents of the Bronx also experience higher rates of diabetes-related amputations, with an increase of 19 percent from 1994 to 2003, compared to increases of 6% in Brooklyn, 8% in Queens, and 2% in Manhattan.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2000 Decennial Census. 2005 American Community Survey; Olsen EC, Van Wye G, Kerker B, Thorpe L, Frieden TR. Take Care Highbridge and Morrisania. NYC Community Health Profiles, Second Edition; 2006; 6(42):1-6. Kim M, Berger D, Matte T. Diabetes in New York City: Public Health Burden and Disparities. New York: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2006.