scholarly journals Multigenerational Attainments, Race, and Mortality Risk among Silent Generation Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph D. Wolfe ◽  
Shawn Bauldry ◽  
Melissa A. Hardy ◽  
Eliza K. Pavalko

This study extends health disparities research by examining racial differences in the relationships between multigenerational attainments and mortality risk among “Silent Generation” women. An emerging literature suggests that the socioeconomic attainments of adjacent generations, one’s parents and adult children, provide an array of life-extending resources in old age. Prior research, however, has demonstrated neither how multigenerational resources are implicated in women’s longevity nor how racial disparities faced by Silent Generation women may differentially structure the relationships between socioeconomic attainments and mortality. With data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, the analysis provided evidence of a three-generation model in which parent occupation, family wealth, and adult child education were independently associated with women’s mortality. Although we found evidence of racial differences in the associations between parental, personal, and spousal education and mortality risk, the education of adult children was a robust predictor of survival for black and white women.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph D. Wolfe ◽  
Shawn Bauldry ◽  
Melissa A. Hardy ◽  
Eliza K. Pavalko

This study extends health disparities research by examining racial differences in the relationships between multigenerational attainments and mortality risk among "Silent Generation" women born between the 1920s and 1940s. An emerging literature suggests that the socioeconomic attainments of adjacent generations, one's parents and adult children, provide an array of life-extending resources in old age. Prior research, however, has demonstrated neither how multigenerational resources are implicated in women's longevity nor how racial disparities faced by Silent Generation women may differentially structure the relationships between socioeconomic attainments and mortality. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, the analysis provides evidence of a three-generation model in which parent occupation, personal wealth, and adult child education are independently associated with women's mortality. Furthermore, although black women's education has no association with their mortality risk, the education of their adult children is a robust predictor of black women's survival.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 393-394
Author(s):  
Yifei Hou ◽  
J Jill Suitor ◽  
Megan Gilligan ◽  
Destiny Ogle ◽  
Catherine Stepniak ◽  
...  

Abstract The cost of raising grandchildren on grandmothers’ mental and physical health has been well-documented; however, little is known about whether raising grandchildren also has a cost on grandmothers’ relationships with the adult children whose children the grandmothers have raised. Drawing from theories of exchange and affect, stress process model, and racial differences in intergenerational solidarity, we tested how raising grandchildren affects grandmother-adult child relations. Further, we explored the extent to which these patterns differed by race. To address this question, we used mixed-methods data collected from 553 older mothers regarding their relationships with their 2,016 adult children; approximately 10% of the mothers had raised one or more of their grandchildren “as their own.” Data were provided by the Within-Family Differences Study-I. Multilevel analyses showed that raising grandchildren was associated with greater closeness in grandmother-adult child relationship in Black families; however, in White families, raising grandchildren was associated with greater conflict in the grandmother-adult child relationship. Further, the differences by race in the effects of raising grandchildren on closeness and conflict were statistically significant. Qualitative analyses revealed that race differences in the association between raising grandchildren and relationship quality could be explained by mothers’ reports of greater family solidarity in Black than White families. Our findings highlight the ways in which race and family solidarity interact to produce differences in the impact of raising grandchildren on Black and White mothers’ assessment of the quality of their relationships with their adult children, consistent with broader patterns of racial differences in intergenerational cohesion.


Circulation ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 135 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Zhang ◽  
Wanzhu Tu ◽  
Lesley Tinker ◽  
JoAnn E Manson ◽  
Simin Liu ◽  
...  

Background: Recent evidence suggests that racial differences in circulating levels of free or bioavailable 25(OH)D rather than total 25(OH)D may explain the apparent racial disparities in cardiovascular disease(CVD).However, few prospective studies have directly tested this hypothesis. Objective: Our study prospectively examined black white differences in the associations of total, free, and bioavailable 25(OH)D, vitamin D binding protein (VDBP), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels at baseline with incident CVD in a large, multi-ethnic, geographically diverse cohort of postmenopausal women. Method: We conducted a case-cohort study among 79,705 black and non-Hispanic white postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years and free of CVD at baseline in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS). We included a randomly chosen subcohort of 1,300 black and 1,500 white noncases at baseline and a total of 550 black and 1,500 white women who developed incident CVD during the follow up. We directly measured circulating levels of total 25(OH)D, VDBP (monoclonal antibody assay), albumin, and PTH and calculated free and bioavailable vitamin D levels. Weighted Cox proportional hazards models were used while adjusting for known CVD risk factors. Results: At baseline, white women had higher mean levels of total 25(OH)D and VDBP and lower mean levels of free and bioavailable 25(OH)D and PTH than black women (all P values < 0.0001). White cases had lower levels of total 25(OH)D and VDBP and higher levels of PTH than white noncases, while black cases had higher levels of PTH than black noncases (all P values < 0.05). There was a trend toward an increased CVD risk associated with low total 25(OH)D and VDBP levels or elevated PTH levels in both US black and white women. In the multivariable analyses, the total, free, and bioavailable 25(OH)D, and VDBP were not significantly associated with CVD risk in black or white women. A statistically significant association between higher PTH levels and increased CVD risk persisted in white women, however. The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios [HRs] comparing the extreme quartiles of PTH were 1.37 (95% CI: 1.06-1.77; P-trend=0.02) for white women and 1.12 (95% CI: 0.79-1.58; P-trend=0.37) for black women. This positive association among white women was also independent of total, free, and bioavailable 25(OH)D or VDBP. There were no significant interactions with other pre-specified factors, including BMI, season of blood draw, sunlight exposure, recreational physical activity, sitting time, or renal function. Interpretation: Findings from a large multiethnic case-cohort study of US black and white postmenopausal women do not support the notion that circulating levels of vitamin D biomarkers may explain black-white disparities in CVD but indicate that PTH excess may be an independent risk factor for CVD in white women.


1997 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 429-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Ettinger ◽  
Stephen Sidney ◽  
Steven R. Cummings ◽  
Cesar Libanati ◽  
Daniel D. Bikle ◽  
...  

Abstract This study tested whether racial differences in bone density can be explained by differences in bone metabolism and lifestyle. A cohort of 402 black and white men and women, ages 25–36 yr, was studied at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Northern California, a prepaid health plan. Body composition (fat, lean, and bone mineral density) was measured using a Hologic-2000 dual-energy x-ray densitometer. Muscle strength, blood and urine chemistry values related to calcium metabolism, bone turnover, growth factors, and level of sex and adrenal hormones were also measured. Medical history, physical activity, and lifestyle were assessed. Statistical analyses using t- and chi-square tests and multiple regression were done to determine whether racial difference in bone density remained after adjustment for covariates. Bone density at all skeletal sites was statistically significantly greater in black than in white subjects; on average, adjustment for covariates reduced the percentage density differences by 42% for men and 34% for women. Adjusted bone density at various skeletal sites was 4.5–16.1% higher for black than for white men and was 1.2–7.3% higher for black than for white women. We concluded that racial differences in bone mineral density are not accounted for by clinical or biochemical variables measured in early adulthood.


2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi J. Spence ◽  
Daniel E. Adkins ◽  
Matthew E. Dupre

Despite recent increases in life course research on mental illness, important questions remain about the social patterning of, and explanations for, depression trajectories among women in later life. The authors investigate competing theoretical frameworks for the age patterning of depressive symptoms and the physical health, socioeconomic, and family mechanisms differentiating black and white women. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, the authors use linear mixed (growth curve) models to estimate trajectories of distress for women aged 52 to 81 years ( N = 3,182). The results demonstrate that: (1) there are persistently higher levels of depressive symptoms among black women relative to white women throughout later life; (2) physical health and socioeconomic status account for much of the racial gap in depressive symptoms; and (3) marital status moderates race differences in distress. The findings highlight the importance of physical health, family, and socioeconomic status in racial disparities in mental health.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (22) ◽  
pp. 2610-2618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Marie McCarthy ◽  
Mirar Bristol ◽  
Susan M. Domchek ◽  
Peter W. Groeneveld ◽  
Younji Kim ◽  
...  

Purpose Racial disparities in BRCA1/2 testing have been documented, but causes of these disparities are poorly understood. The study objective was to investigate whether the distribution of black and white patients across cancer providers contributes to disparities in BRCA1/2 testing. Patients and Methods We conducted a population-based study of women in Pennsylvania and Florida who were 18 to 64 years old and diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 2007 and 2009, linking cancer registry data, the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile, and patient and physician surveys. The study included 3,016 women (69% white, 31% black), 808 medical oncologists, and 732 surgeons. Results Black women were less likely to undergo BRCA1/2 testing than white women (odds ratio [OR], 0.40; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.48; P < .001). This difference was attenuated but not eliminated by adjustment for mutation risk, clinical factors, sociodemographic characteristics, and attitudes about testing (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P < .001). The care of black and white women was highly segregated across surgeons and oncologists (index of dissimilarity 64.1 and 61.9, respectively), but adjusting for clustering within physician or physician characteristics did not change the size of the testing disparity. Black women were less likely to report that they had received physician recommendation for BRCA1/2 testing even after adjusting for mutation risk (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.82; P < .001). Adjusting for physician recommendation further attenuated the testing disparity (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.57 to 1.02; P = .06). Conclusion Although black and white patients with breast cancer tend to see different surgeons and oncologists, this distribution does not contribute to disparities in BRCA1/2 testing. Instead, residual racial differences in testing after accounting for patient and physician characteristics are largely attributable to differences in physician recommendations. Efforts to address these disparities should focus on ensuring equity in testing recommendations.


1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-67
Author(s):  
Lois Benjamin ◽  
James B. Stewart

Relationships between values/beliefs and welfare recipiency and work attachment are examined using a sample of black and white women. The concept of self-efficacy, i.e. perceived ability to produce and regulate events is used to model paths of influence between values/beliefs and observable behaviors. No racial differences are found in the determinants of current labor force status and previous work history. Race is also found to have no significant impact on the probability of receiving public assistance. The explanatory power of measures of self-efficacy is found to be minimal with respect to receipt of public assistance or the duration of receipt of assistance.


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