The CDC released today a first of its kind analysis of racial disparities in health with the hope of drawing attention to some persistent gaps and shedding light on unexpected ones.

While race was the primary focus of the report, it also delved into differences in health outcomes by income, gender and geography. The report is huge and has plenty of interesting -- and disturbing -- findings. Among the biggest disparities:

     + Black babies are 1.5 to 3 times more likely to die than infants born to women of other races

     + Heart disease and stroke, the nation's leading causes of death, account for the largest proportion of inequality in life expectancy between whites and blacks, despite the existence of low-cost treatment.

     + Men of all races are nearly four times more likely to commit suicide than women. American Indians and whites have nearly twice the rate of suicide as that of blacks, Asians and Hispanics.

     + Prescription drugs kill more people than illegal drugs, a reversal from 15 to 20 years ago. Drug deaths increased from 2003 to 2007 among men and women of all races except Hispanics. Whites have the highest rates of drug-related deaths.

Many of the national statistics are mirrored here in Baltimore, where officials have been trying to combat similar disparities, notably between whites and blacks and rich and poor. This afternoon, in fact, Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot is giving a presentation to the city council on strategies to do so.

“Access to healthy foods, healthy housing, healthcare, safe neighborhoods, education and employment opportunities, and transportation – often collectively referred to as social determinants of health – play as important a role in keeping us healthy as they do in making us sick,” Barbot said in a statement. “Eliminating health disparities and achieving health equity in Baltimore City will only be possible through bringing together multiple public, private and community partners to address these issues collaboratively.”