Israeli Arabs suffer more diseases than Jewish citizens

JERUSALEM: Arab citizens in Israel suffer more diseases than the Jewish citizens, according to a health report published Tuesday at a parliament session.

The report, presented by the Advancement of Arab Population’s Health organization, showed that the Jews enjoy a far better living condition than the Arabs in Israel, in terms of life expectancy, and the mortality rates of infants, diabetes, high blood pressure and traffic accidents.

The average life expectancy in Israel is 79 years among Arabs, compared with 82 years for Jews. For women, the figures are 80.9 years among Arabs, compared with 84.5 years among Jewish women.

In addition, the infant mortality rate stands at an average of 6.1 per 1,000 births among Arabs, compared with only 2.2 among Jews.The mortality rate from diabetes is 32 percent on average among Arabs, compared with only 14 percent among Jews.

The mortality rate from high blood pressure is 22 percent among Arab men and 23.4 percent among Arab women, compared with 19 percent among Jewish men and 18.7 percent among Jewish women.