Ethnic Minority Elderly Individuals

African American Elders

The number of African American elders in the United States is predicted to grow from 2.9 million in 2000 to 8.6 million in 2050. The slave health deficit and cumulative lifelong disadvantage remain for elderly African Americans and have not narrowed over the last 50 years. Life expectancy at birth is approximately 67.8 for African American males and 74.7 for females, and 74.0 for U.S. Virgin Islander males and 77.0 for females, in comparison to 74.6 for European American males and 79.9 for females. This may suggest that health and health care improvements benefit African Americans at a slower pace, or that health care innovations and services do not equally improve the health status of African Americans as compared with European Americans.

African Americans suffer from health disparities in disability and deaths from heart disease, stroke, cancers, and other chronic diseases. Poorer socioeconomic and social resources result in inadequate access to preventive and cutting-edge medical services, including hospitalization for a large group of middleage and elderly African Americans, and accumulative health disparities in mortality and morbidity outcomes. Although several studies indicate higher utilization of certain preventive screening tests (e.g., mammography and Pap smears), they have not produced sufficient health benefits. African Americans still struggle with later diagnosis of illnesses and fewer options for follow-up care and timely treatments. Diagnosis and appropriate treatment are especially problematic for those without health insurance.

Significant mental health disparities exist, yet little is known specifically about the prevalence rates of mental disorders and cognitive impairment among African American elders. Severe cognitive impairment, depression, and other mental health disparities may exist over and above those which have been accounted for by socioeconomic status and educational differences. Research on African American elders should pursue the impact of health and other comorbid conditions, lifelong discriminatory experiences, and environmental exposures and stressors during important developmental time periods.

Hispanic and Latino American Elders

By the year 2030, Hispanic American elderly will be the largest minority elderly group in the United States. Of all races' elders segments, Hispanic American elders are projected to grow most rapidly, from 1.5 million in 2000 to 13.8 in 2050. Hispanic American elders consisted of 50% Mexican, American, 17% Cuban American, 11% Puerto Rican American, and 24% Other Hispanic Americans in 2002. Elders constitute a rather small percentage of the Hispanic and Latino population: 4% of Mexican Americans, 5% of Americans from South and Central America, and 6% of Puerto Ricans are elderly. The exception is Cuban Americans, of whom 21% are classified as elderly. The health status of Hispanics in the southwestern United States is comparable to the health status of non-Hispanic European Americans. Life expectancies at birth are 76.0 for Hispanic males and 83.0 for [Page 194]females in California, and 71.0 for Puerto Ricans in the commonwealth. A closer examination of this Hispanic paradox is warranted, because there are better mortality outcomes despite Hispanics being more socioeonomically disadvantaged in infancy and at older ages.

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