Abstract :
The Han and Uyghur populations of the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region of China differ in all major health indicators. In life
expectancy, infant mortality, maternal mortality and morbidity Uyghur
people are much worse off than Han. Calculations performed with the linear
mixed effect multiple regression model show that poor health in Xinjiang is
tied directly to Uyghur nationality. Although education, employment and
income are also correlated with public health outcomes, they neither cancel
out the effect of nationality nor lessen it significantly. Various socio-economic,
cultural and historical factors are responsible for the health gap.
Preliminary investigations suggest that lack of education, low income, cultural
attitudes about gender, group-specific psychological stress, and the
socio-economic and demographic changes of the past 60 years could be
the major factors.
