Racial disparities in mortality in the adult hispanic population

• Main Authors: Elizabeth Arias, Norman J. Johnson, Betzaida Tejada Vera
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-08-01
• Series: SSM: Population Health
• Subjects: Mortality disparities; Hispanic mortality paradox; Race; Nativity
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827320300525

Objective: We addressed three research questions: (1) Are there racial mortality disparities in the adult Hispanic population that resemble those observed in the non-Hispanic population in the US? (2) Does nativity mediate the race-mortality relationship in the Hispanic population? and (3) What does the Hispanic mortality advantage relative to the non-Hispanic white population look like when Hispanic race is considered? Methods: We estimated a series of parametric hazard models on eight years of mortality follow-up data and calculated life expectancy estimates using the Mortality Disparities in American Communities database. Results: Hispanic white adults experience lower mortality than their Hispanic black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Some Other Race, and multiple race counterparts. This Hispanic white advantage is found mostly among the US born. The Hispanic advantage relative to the non-Hispanic white population operates for most Hispanic race groups among the foreign born but either disappears or converts to a disadvantage for most of the non-white Hispanic groups among the US born. Contribution: Our study extends the literature on the Hispanic Mortality Paradox by revealing that the adult Hispanic population experiences racial mortality disparities that closely resemble those observed in the non-Hispanic population. The Hispanic mortality advantage is mediated not only by nativity but by race. These results indicate that race is a critical factor that should be considered in any study with the goal of understanding the health and mortality profiles of the Hispanic population in the US.