scholarly journals Self-Rated Health Trajectories among Married Americans: Do Disparities Persist over 20 Years?

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terceira A. Berdahl ◽  
Julia McQuillan

The purpose of this study is to understand self-rated health (SRH) trajectories by social location (race/ethnicity by gender by social class) among married individuals in the United States. We estimate multilevel models of SRH using six observations from 1980 to 2000 from a nationally representative panel of married individuals initially aged 25–55 (Marital Instability Over the Life Course Study). Results indicate that gender, race/ethnicity, and social class are associated with initial SRH disparities. Women are less healthy than men; people of color are less healthy than whites; lower educated individuals are less healthy than higher educated individuals. Women’s health declined slower than men’s but did not differ by race/ethnicity or education. Results from complex intersectional models show that white men with any college had the highest initial SRH. Only women with any college had significantly slower declines in SRH compared to white men with any college. For married individuals of all ages, most initial SRH disparities persist over twenty years. Intersecting statuses show that education provides uneven health benefits across racial/ethnic and gender subgroups.

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Krieger ◽  
Elizabeth Fee

National vital statistics in the United States present data in terms of race, sex, and age, treated as biological variables. Some races are clearly of more interest than others: data are usually available for whites and blacks, and increasingly for Hispanics, but seldom for Native Americans or Asians and Pacific Islanders. These data indicate that white men and women generally have the best health and that men and women, within each racial/ethnic group, have different patterns of disease. Obviously, the health status of men and women differs for conditions related to reproduction, but it differs for many nonreproductive conditions as well. In national health data, patterns of disease by race and sex are emphasized while social class differences are ignored. This article discusses how race and sex became such all-important, self-evident categories in 19th and 20th century biomedical thought and practice. It examines the consequences of these categories for knowledge about health and for the provision of health care. It then presents alternative approaches to understanding the relationship between race/ethnicity, gender, and health, with reference to the neglected category of social class.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089011712098581
Author(s):  
David C. Colston ◽  
Beomyoung Cho ◽  
James F. Thrasher ◽  
Andrea R. Titus ◽  
Yanmei Xie ◽  
...  

Purpose: To evaluate sociodemographic differences in the relationship between state and national anti-smoking media campaigns and cessation behaviors among adult smokers in the U.S. Design: Repeated cross-sectional analysis. Setting: U.S. nationally representative survey of adults ages 18 and older, 2001-2015. Subjects: 76,278 year-ago smokers from the 2001-2015 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Measures: Area-level exposure to State-sponsored and “Tips from former smokers” anti-tobacco media campaigns was the primary predictor of this study. Outcome variables included: quit attempt in the past 12 months, past 30-day smoking cessation, and past 90-day smoking cessation among year-ago smokers. Analysis: We conducted modified Poisson regression models to examine the association between media campaign exposure and cessation behaviors. We also examined effect modification on the additive scale by sex, race/ethnicity, income, and education using average marginal effects. Results: Year-ago smokers with greater exposure to media campaigns were more likely to report 30-day (Prevalence Ratio [PR]: 1.18, CI: 1.03, 1.36) and 90-day cessation (PR: 1.18, CI: 1.00, 1.41) compared to respondents with less campaign exposure. We found no evidence of effect modification by sociodemographic variables. Conclusion: Exposure to anti-smoking media campaigns were associated with year-ago smokers’ cessation behaviors. However, there were no differences in the association by sex, race/ethnicity, income, or education, indicating that broadly focused media campaigns may be insufficient to reduce smoking cessation among priority populations, and thus health disparities generally.


Kidney Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Wilson ◽  
Lisa Spees ◽  
Jessica Pritchard ◽  
Melissa A. Greiner ◽  
Charles D. Scales ◽  
...  

Background: Substantial racial and socioeconomic disparities in metastatic RCC (mRCC) have persisted following the introduction of targeted oral anticancer agents (OAAs). The relationship between patient characteristics and OAA access and costs that may underlie persistent disparities in mRCC outcomes have not been examined in a nationally representative patient population. Methods: Retrospective SEER-Medicare analysis of patients diagnosed with mRCC between 2007–2015 over age 65 with Medicare part D prescription drug coverage. Associations between patient characteristics, OAA receipt, and associated costs were analyzed in the 12 months following mRCC diagnosis and adjusted to 2015 dollars. Results: 2,792 patients met inclusion criteria, of which 32.4%received an OAA. Most patients received sunitinib (57%) or pazopanib (28%) as their first oral therapy. Receipt of OAA did not differ by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic indicators. Patients of advanced age (>  80 years), unmarried patients, and patients residing in the Southern US were less likely to receive OAAs. The mean inflation-adjusted 30-day cost to Medicare of a patient’s first OAA prescription nearly doubled from $3864 in 2007 to $7482 in 2015, while patient out-of-pocket cost decreased from $2409 to $1477. Conclusion: Race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status were not associated with decreased OAA receipt in patients with mRCC; however, residing in the Southern United States was, as was marital status. Surprisingly, the cost to Medicare of an initial OAA prescription nearly doubled from 2007 to 2015, while patient out-of-pocket costs decreased substantially. Shifts in OAA costs may have significant economic implications in the era of personalized medicine.


2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Borrero ◽  
Charity G. Moore ◽  
Mitchell D. Creinin ◽  
Said A. Ibrahim

Male sterilization is a highly effective contraceptive method that is underused especially among minorities. This analysis examined the association between race/ethnicity and receipt of sterilization counseling. This study used data collected by the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. The analysis included men 15 to 44 years old who had not undergone sterilization. The outcome was receipt of sterilization counseling in the 12 months prior to interview, and the primary predictor was race/ethnicity. Sociodemographic characteristics, history of fathering an unintended birth, intention for more children, and access to health care were examined as confounders. Sixty-one (1.7%) men reported receiving sterilization counseling. Although counseling was reported more commonly by Black and Hispanic men compared with White men, the rates were not significantly different (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.8-7.1 and OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 0.9-4.1, respectively). In this nationally representative sample of men aged 15 to 44 years, there were exceedingly low rates of sterilization counseling for all men regardless of race/ethnicity.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (6_suppl) ◽  
pp. 339-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manas Nigam ◽  
Brisa Aschebrook-Kilfoy ◽  
Sergey Shikanov ◽  
Scott E. Eggener

339 Background: The incidence of testicular cancer (TC) increased in the US through 2003. However, little is known about these trends after 2003. We sought to determine trends in TC incidence based on race, ethnicity and tumor characteristics. Methods: TC incidence and tumor characteristic data from 1992-2009 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-13 (SEER) registry. Trends were determined using JoinPoint. Results: TC incidence in the US increased from 1992 (5.7/100,000) to 2009 (6.8/100,000) with annual percentage change (APC) of 1.1% (p < 0.001). TC rates were highest in non-Hispanic white men (1992: 7.5/100,000; 2009: 8.6/1000) followed by Hispanic men (1992: 4.0/100,000; 2009: 6.3/100,000) and lowest among non-Hispanic black men (1992: 0.7/100,000; 2009: 1.7/100,000). Significantly increasing incidence rates were observed in non-Hispanic white men (1.2%, p < 0.001) but most prominently among Hispanics, especially from 2002-2009 (5.6%, p < 0.01). A significant increase was observed for localized TC (1.21%, p < 0.001) and metastatic TC (1.43%, p < 0.01). Increased incidence occurred in localized tumors for non-Hispanic white men (1.56%, p <0.001), while Hispanic men experienced an increase in localized (2.6%, p < 0.001), regionalized (16.5% from 2002-09, p < 0.01), and distant (2.6%, p < 0.01) disease. Conclusions: Through 2009, testicular cancer incidence continues to increase in the United States, most notably among Hispanic men. [Table: see text]


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (suppl 1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Burgard ◽  
Debora de Pina Castiglione ◽  
Katherine Y. Lin ◽  
Aline A. Nobre ◽  
Estela M. L. Aquino ◽  
...  

Abstract: There has been little cross-national comparison of perceived discrimination, and few studies have considered how intersectional identities shape perception of discriminatory treatment in different societies. Using data from the ELSA-Brasil, a study of Brazilian civil servants, and the Americans’ Changing Lives Study, a nationally-representative sample of U.S. adults, we compare reports of lifetime discrimination among race-by-gender groups in each society. We also consider whether educational attainment explains any group differences, or if differences across groups vary by level of education. Results reveal higher lifetime discrimination experiences among Black respondents in both countries, especially Black men, than among Whites, and lower reports among White women than White men. Brown men and women also reported higher levels than White men in Brazil. For all race-by-gender groups in both countries, except Brazilian White men, reports of discrimination were higher among the more educated, though adjusting for educational differences across groups did not explain group differences. In Brazil, we found the greatest racial disparities among the college educated, while U.S. Black men were more likely to report discrimination than White men at all levels of education. Results reveal broad similarities across countries, despite important differences in their histories, and an intersectional approach contributed to identification of these similarities and some differences in discrimination experiences. These findings have implications for social and public health surveillance and intervention to address the harmful consequences of discrimination.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared P. Reis ◽  
Caroline A. Macera ◽  
Barbara E. Ainsworth ◽  
Deborah A. Hipp

Background:Walking for exercise is a popular leisure-time activity pursuit among US adults; however, little information is available about total daily walking.Methods:A nationally representative random sample of 10,461 US adults (4438 men and 6023 women) was surveyed via telephone between 2002 and 2003. Weekly frequency and daily duration of walking for all purposes in bouts of at least 10 min were measured. Regular walking was defined as walking ≥5 d/wk, ≥30 min/d.Results:Overall, 49% of adults (51% of men and 47% of women) were regular walkers, and approximately 17% reported no walking. Regular walking was significantly higher in employed adults and decreased with increasing age in women and body mass index in both sexes. Total walking was significantly higher among adults with lower levels of educational attainment and did not vary significantly by race/ethnicity.Conclusions:These results affirm the popularity of walking in the United States.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. McCabe

There are many reasons why Americans prefer homeownership to renting. Owning a home can serve as a vehicle for economic mobility or a marker of status attainment. Homeownership may deepen feelings of ontological security and enable families to move into more convenient neighborhoods. While previous research on race, ethnicity, and housing focuses on homeownership attainment, identifying structural barriers to explain persistent racial disparities, there has been little investigation of the reasons why Americans prefer to own their own homes. Drawing on the National Housing Survey, a nationally representative survey of American adults, I ask how these reasons vary by race and ethnicity. I report that African Americans and Latinos are more likely than whites to identify the social status of ownership and the importance of building wealth as reasons to buy a home. While African Americans are also more likely to pursue homeownership as a way to improve their housing quality, they are less likely to view ownership as a tool for accessing more convenient neighborhoods. As a contribution to research on racial stratification in homeownership, my findings push beyond existing studies of revealed preferences to explain why buying a home endures as such an important goal for many Americans. African Americans and Latinos are more deeply invested in the social status of homeownership, the importance of building wealth, and the promise of moving into a nicer home when they pursue ownership opportunities.


The Forum ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamila Michener

AbstractCommon markers of social class include income, wealth, education and family background. Though these capture staple pedestrian elements of class, they understate something substantial – social class is produced by political experiences. Building on this observation, I argue that social class is constructed and reinforced via political institutions that differentially affect the daily experiences and life trajectories of Americans. Viewing class through this lens (instead of more simply as a function of income or education) enables clarity on two critical features of the American political system: (1) its deeply racialized institutional practices (2) its dual inclusionary/exclusionary governance structures. Most broadly, this essay pushes us beyond a view of class as a set of variables that affect political outcomes and towards inquiry into the ways that political institutions produce class. Ultimately, such a conceptual pivot illuminates additional pathways for transforming economic and political relations in the United States.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document