Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 52, Issue 6 S336-S344, Copyright © 1997 by The Gerontological Society of America
Differences by race in the decline of health over time
CW Peek, RT Coward, JC Henretta, RP Duncan and MC Dougherty
Claude Pepper Center for Research on Oral Health in Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville 31610-0416, USA. [email protected]
Previous research on race differences in health, we believe, has failed to
take into account the initial state of health of the respondents. Other
research has demonstrated that elders in poor health are more likely to
experience a change in their health over time. It is unclear if the greater
probability of decline in health observed among African Americans is a
result of being more likely to begin such observations in health states
that are worse than those for Whites. This investigation examines declines
in health over a 30-month period in a sample of African American and White
elders who began the study in similar "good health." Findings support the
supposition that African Americans are more likely to report a decline in
their health, regardless of the health measure used. Differences by race in
the decline of health appear to be a consequence of economic and
educational discrepancies between the two groups.
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