Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Health of Older Americans - Softcover

National Research Council; Division Of Behavioral And Social Sciences And Education; Commission On Behavioral And Social Sciences And Education; Committee On Population

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0309054893 ISBN 13: 9780309054898

Publisher: National Academies Press, 1997

Synopsis

Older Americans, even the oldest, can now expect to live years longer than those who reached the same ages even a few decades ago. Although survival has improved for all racial and ethnic groups, strong differences persist, both in life expectancy and in the causes of disability and death at older ages. This book examines trends in mortality rates and selected causes of disability (cardiovascular disease, dementia) for older people of different racial and ethnic groups.
The determinants of these trends and differences are also investigated, including differences in access to health care and experiences in early life, diet, health behaviors, genetic background, social class, wealth and income. Groups often neglected in analyses of national data, such as the elderly Hispanic and Asian Americans of different origin and immigrant generations, are compared. The volume provides understanding of research bearing on the health status and survival of the fastest-growing segment of the American population.

Table of Contents

• Front Matter
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Racial and Ethnic Differences in Mortality at Older Ages
• 3 Health and Disability Differences Among Racial and Ethnic Groups
• 4 Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Health in Late Life
• 5 How Health Behaviors and the Social Environment Contribute to Health Differences Between Black and White Older Americans
• 6 Black-White Differences in the Use of Medical Care by the Elderly: A Contemporary Analysis
• 7 Are Genetic Factors Involved in Racial and Ethnic Differences in Late-Life Health?
• 8 Differences in Rates of Dementia Between Ethno-Racial Groups
• 9 Cardiovascular Disease Among Elderly Asian Americans
• 10 Health Status of Hispanic Elderly

About this title

About the Author:

Linda G. Martin and Beth J. Soldo, Editors; Committee on Population, National Research Council

About this edition

• Publisher: National Academies Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0309054893
• ISBN 13: 9780309054898
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312
• Editor: Soldo Beth J., Martin Linda G.