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