Does the Hispanic Paradox in U.S. Adult Mortality Extend to Disability?

Abstract

Studies consistently document a Hispanic paradox in U.S. adult mortality, whereby Hispanics have similar or lower mortality rates than non-Hispanic whites despite lower socioeconomic status. This study extends this line of inquiry to disability, especially among foreign-born Hispanics, since their advantaged mortality seemingly should be paired with health advantages more generally. We also assess whether the paradox extends to U.S.-born Hispanics to evaluate the effect of nativity. We calculate multistate life tables of life expectancy with disability to assess whether racial/ethnic and nativity differences in the length of disability-free life parallel differences in overall life expectancy. Our results document a Hispanic paradox in mortality for foreign-born and U.S.-born Hispanics. However, Hispanics’ low mortality rates are not matched by low disability rates. Their disability rates are substantially higher than those of non-Hispanic whites and generally similar to those of non-Hispanic blacks. The result is a protracted period of disabled life expectancy for Hispanics, both foreign- and U.S.-born.

Differences In Life Expectancy Due To Race And Educational Differences Are Widening, And Many May Not Catch Up

“…Some Hispanics return to their country of origin to die; and the people who emigrate from most countries in Latin America tend to be healthier and more highly educated than the population from which they originated, a concept referred to as health selection. 33,34 The largest disparity in life expectancy at birth in the United States among the subgroups for which there are reliable data involve differences between the highest educated whites, those with sixteen or more years of education by age twentyfive, and the lowest educated blacks, those with fewer than twelve years of education by the same age (Exhibit 1). The observed disparities in life expectancy at birth between these subgroups in 2008 were 14.2 years for males and 10.3 years for females.…”

“…These younger immigrants have higher age-specific death rates than first generation immigrants. 33,34 The relationship between education and longevity is complicated by race-specific variations in disease prevalence and related behavioral risk factors. For example, relative to a few decades ago, today a college education and its accompanying benefits have more powerful beneficial effects on longevity.…”

Demography in the Big Data Revolution: Changing the Culture to Forge New Frontiers

“…Hayward has long had an interest in healthy life expectancy-the expected years of good health at birth for a group in a society (Hayward et al 2014). For multivariate estimation models, bootstrapping in the process of predicting healthy life expectancy for a single group using a computer that was not being used for any other task was taking Hayward and his colleagues almost a month.…”

Has the Rate of Human Aging Already Been Modified?

“…Why? Because evidence has emerged to indicate that second-and third-generation Hispanics are experiencing notable declines in health caused by the acquisition of increasingly more harmful behavioral risk factors such as smoking and obesity (Hayward et al 2014). Thus, because Hispanics are about to noticeably increase their presence as part of American demographics, and their future health and longevity trajectory is spiraling downward, there is reason to believe that this will have a notable negative impact on the life and health expectancy of all Medicare-eligible cohorts between now and 2040.…”