CDC: Nearly 1 In 4 People In U.S. Will Be Hispanic By 2035

The Hispanic population in the coming two decades is projected to reach 84,543,000, or 22.8 percent of the population, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Currently the Hispanic population makes up 17 percent of the U.S. population at 56,754,000.

In a report issued Tuesday the CDC looked at the health issues of the Hispanic population in the U.S. noting that currently 1 in 6 people in the U.S. are Hispanic but by 2035 that proportion is likely to be almost 1 in 4.

According to the report, the Hispanic death rate is 24 percent lower than whites and Hispanics live on average two years longer than whites.

“The findings in this report are consistent with previous reports that use the term ‘Hispanic paradox’ to describe Hispanics’ projected longer life expectancy (by an estimated 2 years) and lower overall mortality, despite potential barriers to good health such as higher rates of being uninsured and worse profiles for some social determinants of health,” the report reads.

The CDC explains that while Hispanics are more likely to be living in poverty, lack a high school degree and not have health insurance they are less likely to be affected by the leading causes of death among whites.

“[N]otably, this included the two leading causes of death: cancer (-28%) and heart disease (-25%),” the report reads.

Hispanics were, however, vastly more likely to meet their demise from “diabetes (+51%), ‘chronic liver disease and cirrhosis’ (+48%), and homicide (+96%),” than whites.

As to why the statistics have Hispanics living longer than whites, the report offers a few ideas.

“Lower smoking rates among Hispanics, immigration of healthy immigrants, reverse migration of more ill or elderly immigrants, and higher levels of family support might help to explain this mortality advantage for some Hispanic origin groups,” the report reads. “In addition, being born in the United States and increasing length of time since arrival in the United States are associated with many risk factors and poor health outcomes. This also is reflected in the overall poor health status of the United States compared with other developed nations.”