Collection of race and ethnicity data has been controversial in the United States, and the identification of legally recognized race and ethnic categories has shifted over time as a result of changes in the sociopolitical climate. For example, the shift from using the Asian (Mongol) to the White classification for Arab or Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) populations came after contentious court battles at the beginning of the 20th century, when being White was a prerequisite for US citizenship. 1 Furthermore, the accuracy of racial and ethnic categories has been questioned. 2–4 A case in point is that the Hispanic/Latino group did not emerge as a recognized ethnic group until the 1980 US census count, 5 and there was little consensus as to whether this category should be considered a race or an ethnicity. 6 The categories adopted in the US census tend to result from both research and political lobbying. The political motivations underlying the collection of race and ethnicity data range from remedying inequalities to advancing White supremacist values. 4, 7, 8 Accurate and robust collection of ethnicity and race data is the first critical step in identifying and addressing disparities in health. 9, 10 One ethnic minority group that is often omitted from medical and health-related data collection altogether is the Arab/MENA population in the United States. Race and ethnicity disparity statistics often exclude the Arab/MENA population because either data are not being collected on this population or the group is not being disaggregated from the White race category. A growing body of research shows that Arab/MENA Americans have both health and social patterns distinct from those of Whites. Findings suggest that, relative to non-Hispanic Whites, Arab/MENA Americans have a higher prevalence of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease, 11–13 as well as low birth weight 14, 15 and depressive symptoms. 16, 17

Furthermore, this group is bifurcated in terms of socioeconomic status, reporting both higher and lower educational levels than Whites. 18, 19 It appears that the experiences of Arab/MENA Americans place them at elevated risk of developing a myriad of health problems, perhaps owing to discrimination and social stress. 10, 20 We argue that disaggregating the Arab/MENA population in race and ethnic group data collection by including an Arab/MENA ethnic category will advance the science of health disparities.