PURPOSE: This paper examines the scientific consensus on the conceptualization of race,
identifies why health researchers should analyze racial differences in morbidity and mortality
and provides guidelines for future health research that includes race. METHODS: Examines
scientific dictionaries and reviews the social science, public health and medical literature on
the role of race in health. RESULTS: First, this paper reviews the evidence suggesting that
race is more of a social category than a biological one. Variation in genotypic characteristics …