Closing The Gap: A Closer Look At Chicago’s Health Disparity

It’s not clear how living in a segregated neighborhood affects blood pressure, but stress is one potential cause, experts say.
It's not clear how living in a segregated neighborhood affects blood pressure, but stress is one potential cause, experts say.
It’s not clear how living in a segregated neighborhood affects blood pressure, but stress is one potential cause, experts say.
It's not clear how living in a segregated neighborhood affects blood pressure, but stress is one potential cause, experts say.

Closing The Gap: A Closer Look At Chicago’s Health Disparity

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This is Episode 2 of our new series “Closing the Gap.” In this ongoing series, we take a look at disparities in Chicago — whether that comes to health, education or income — and explore solutions that would help close that gap.

This week, we’re diving into the stark life expectancy gap we see between some of Chicago’s richest and poorest residents and exploring what drives that disparity.

Earlier this summer, a New York University study found residents in one section of Streeterville live to be 90 years old on average, while in a part of Englewood, just a few miles south, that number drops to 60. This represents the largest life expectancy gap not just in Chicago but in the country.

In this second installment, Reset talks to a couple of people who work in the health field on the South Side to hear what the disparity looks like on the ground.

GUESTS: Rodney Johnson, public health researcher and president of the group One Health Englewood

Dr. Sofia Adawy, medical director of the Inner City Muslim Action Network clinic