An Assessment of the Relationship Between Health Behaviors, Physiological Dysregulation, and Mortality for Black, White, and Mexican Americans in the U.S.

• Other Authors: Weeks, Janet A. (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Sociology; Demography
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_2015fall_Weeks_fsu_0071E_12756

In recent decades, the influence of negative health behaviors on physical health and mortality has garnered a great deal of attention (Institute of Medicine 2001). Research suggests that these negative health behaviors, such as smoking, binge drinking, and lack of exercise, are leading preventable causes of morbidity and early mortality in the U.S. (Institute of Medicine 2001). Yet, little research has explored whether there are differential impacts of risky health behaviors on health outcomes by social groups such as race/ethnicity. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2008, linked with the National Death Index, My dissertation focuses on filling existing gaps in the literature by exploring the associations between health behaviors, physiological distress, and mortality and how these associations vary by race and ethnicity in the U.S. I examine 1) how these relationships (health behaviors, physiological dysregulation, death) vary by race/ethnicity; 2) the role health behaviors play in the relationship between physiological dysregulation and mortality as well as how this role varies by race/ethnicity and; 3) investigate how the individual items (biomarkers) that make up the physiological dysregulation measure can be grouped by behaviors and race/ethnicity in a way that further elucidates the previously mentioned relationships. First, negative binomial regressions show a differential relationship between negative health behaviors and physiological dysregulation by race/ethnicity. Namely, Whites experience a significantly higher detrimental impact of negative health behaviors on their physiological dysregulation than do Blacks, and to a lesser extent Mexican Americans. Yet, running Cox Proportional Hazards models on the risk of mortality reveals no racial/ethnic differentials in the impact of health behaviors on mortality. The latent class analysis of the biomarker indicators is then used to further parse out why there is a difference in the racial/ethnic variations in the relationship between poor health behaviors and physiological distress but not mortality. These findings suggest that respondents' biomarkers do cluster into healthy, cardiovascular, metabolic, and inflammatory groups. The cardiovascular group is defined by higher proportion of minorities, particularly Blacks, as well as a stronger relationship with negative health behaviors. The group is also the most likely to experience mortality. The already high likelihood of minorities having high cardiovascular risk may explain why there is a weaker relationship between physiological dysregulation and risky health behaviors. This research could extend information on the consequences of risky health behaviors as well as inform public policy on the importance of considering social differentials when addressing health behavior risk. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Fall Semester 2015. === July 14, 2015. === Includes bibliographical references. === Miles G. Taylor, Professor Directing Dissertation; Dan McGee, University Representative; Isaac Eberstein, Committee Member; Amy Burdette, Committee Member.