Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Health of Older Americans -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- 1 Introduction -- REFERENCES -- 2 Racial and Ethnic Differences in Mortality at Older Ages -- INTRODUCTION -- VITAL STATISTICS AND CENSUS DATA -- African Americans and Whites -- Hispanics -- Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders -- LINKED STUDIES -- Social Security and Medicare Data -- National Longitudinal Mortality Survey -- African Americans -- Hispanics -- Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders -- Subnational Studies -- EXTINCT GENERATION ESTIMATES -- CAUSES OF DEATH -- CONCLUSIONS -- REFERENCES -- 3 Health and Disability Differences Among Racial and Ethnic Groups -- INTRODUCTION -- MAJOR MORBIDITY PROCESSES AND THEIR AGE DEPENDENCE ACROSS RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS -- Osteoporosis and Hip Fracture -- Heart Diseases and Stroke -- Atherosclerosis -- Diabetes Mellitus (Adult Onset) -- Body Iron Stores -- Hypertension -- Cancers -- Prostate Cancer -- Breast Cancer -- Cervical Cancer -- Multiple Myeloma -- Disease Interactions -- Health Care -- BLACK, HISPANIC, AND WHITE TOTAL AND CAUSE-SPECIFIC MORTALITY DIFFERENCES -- WHITE-NONWHITE DIFFERENCES IN DISABILITY AND ACTIVE LIFE EXPECTANCY -- SUMMARY -- REFERENCES -- 4 Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Health in Late Life -- INTRODUCTION -- THE THEORY OF HEALTH PRODUCTION AND ITS RELEVANCE TO SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS-RACE-HEALTH RESEARCH -- The Socioeconomic Status-Health Gradient -- Measurement of Socioeconomic Status -- Education -- Financial Resources -- Occupation -- The Race Connection -- The Role of Race -- Measurement of Race -- RACE, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND HEALTH STATUS: EXISTING EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE -- Mortality -- General Health Status, Functional Status, and Morbidity -- RACIAL HEALTH DISPARITIES -- HEALTH AND WEALTH -- RISK BEHAVIORS -- EMPIRICAL MODELS OF SELF-REPORTED HEALTH OUTCOMES.

Measurement of Household Resources -- Changes in Health Outcomes -- Long-Run Measures of Economic Resources -- CONCLUSIONS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENT -- REFERENCES -- 5 How Health Behaviors and the Social Environment Contribute to Health Differences Between Black and White Older Americans -- INTRODUCTION -- THE ROLE OF ATTITUDES AND SOCIAL CONTEXT IN BEHAVIORS THAT DAMAGE OR PROMOTE HEALTH AMONG BLACKS AND WHITES -- Self-Appraisal of Health and Health Behavior -- Health Behaviors -- Diet and Exercise -- Cigarette Smoking -- Alcohol Use -- Health Practices of Elderly Diabetics and Hypertensives -- Social Networks and Social Support -- RACIAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIORS: FINDINGS FROM THE NEW HAVEN EPESE -- CONCLUSIONS -- REFERENCES -- 6 Black-White Differences in the Use of Medical Care by the Elderly: A Contemporary Analysis -- INTRODUCTION -- DATA AND METHODS -- Data and Study Sample -- Variables -- Utilization of Medical Care -- Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics -- Health Status -- Attitudes and Beliefs -- Statistical Analysis -- RESULTS -- Bivariate Analyses -- Multivariate Analyses -- DISCUSSION -- REFERENCES -- 7 Are Genetic Factors Involved in Racial and Ethnic Differences in Late-Life Health? -- INTRODUCTION -- TWO SIMPLE MONOGENIC DISORDERS DIFFERING IN FREQUENCY IN BLACKS AND WHITES -- DIFFERENCES IN ALLELE FREQUENCY FOR GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS IN BLACKS AND WHITES -- SOME GENETICALLY COMPLEX, ENVIRONMENTALLY INFLUENCED DISORDERS DIFFERING IN FREQUENCY IN BLACKS AND WHITES -- PROSPECTS FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BASIS FOR DIFFERENCES IN LATE-LIFE DISEASES -- REFERENCES -- 8 Differences in Rates of Dementia Between Ethno-Racial Groups -- EPIDEMIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND -- Dementia Rates and Subtypes -- Estimating Rates of Dementia -- Ethno-Racial Differences in Rates of Dementia.

Putative effects of Education -- METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES -- The North Manhattan Aging Project and the Active Life Expectancy Study -- Our Methods for Minimizing Biases in Ethno-Racial Comparisons of Dementia -- Case Findings -- Screening and Field Classification Techniques -- Criterion Diagnosis -- Biological Indicators -- Longitudinal and Outcome Information -- Dementia and Quality of Life -- Dementia and Service Utilization -- Convergence of Conclusions -- Border-Zone Dementias and Nondementias -- Designation of Ethno-Racial Membership -- Other Socioeconomic Information -- RESULTS -- General Results -- Yields from the Survey Component -- Overrepresentation -- Differences in Prevalence Rates of Dementia -- Mislabeling -- Prevalence and Other Indices of Rates -- Effect of the Breadth of the Concept of Dementia -- Risk Factors -- Educational Associations -- Subtypes of Dementia Among Ethno-Racial Groups -- Other Risk Factors: Income and Immigration -- Quality-of-Life Impairments -- Memory Complaints -- Tasks of Daily Living -- Affective Suffering -- Service Utilization -- Nursing Homes -- Home Care -- Emergency Clinics -- Hospitalization -- DISCUSSION -- Limitations of the Findings and Potential of the Methods -- Ethno-Racial Variation in Prevalence Rates -- Ethno-Racial Consistency in the Associations of Dementia -- Working Hypotheses for the Effects of Education -- Ethno-Racial Differences in Service Utilization -- CONCLUSION -- ACKNOWLEDGMENT -- REFERENCES -- 9 Cardiovascular Disease Among Elderly Asian Americans -- INTRODUCTION -- METHODS -- Study Population -- Baseline Examination -- Measures of Acculturation for the Hawaii Cohort -- Follow-up Examinations and Surveillance -- Definition of Cases -- Age Categories -- RESULTS -- Ni-Hon-San Comparisons -- Cultural Pathways to Coronary Heart Disease in the Elderly -- DISCUSSION -- FUTURE RESEARCH.

REFERENCES -- 10 Health Status of Hispanic Elderly -- INTRODUCTION -- MORTALITY AND LIFE EXPECTANCY -- EXPLAINING THE HISPANIC ADVANTAGE IN HEART DISEASE AND CANCER MORTALITY -- OTHER DISEASES -- FUNCTIONAL LIMITATIONS -- SELF-ASSESSED HEALTH -- MENTAL HEALTH -- ISSUES IN MEDICAL CARE -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES.