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Journal of Aging and Health
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Black—White Disparities in Disability Among Older Americans

Further Untangling the Role of Race and Socioeconomic Status

Esme Fuller-Thomson

University of Toronto, Canada, esme.fuller.thomson{at}utoronto.ca

A. Nuru-Jeter

University of California, Berkeley

Meredith Minkler

University of California, Berkeley

Jack M. Guralnik

National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD

Objectives: To explore the impact of adjusting for income and education on disparities in functional limitations and limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) between Black and White older Americans. Method: Data from the 2003 American Community Survey were used to examine the associations of education and income, stratified by race and gender, with functional limitations and ADLs, in a sample of 16,870 non-Hispanic Blacks and 186,086 non-Hispanic Whites aged 55 to 74. Sequential logistic regressions were used to examine the relative contribution of income and education to racial disparities. Results: Ninety percent of the Black—White difference in disability rates for men and 75% of the difference for women aged 55 to 64 were explained by income and education. Discussion: The greatly elevated risk of disability among Blacks aged 55 to 74 is largely explained by differences in socioeconomic status. Reductions in Black—White health disparities require a better understanding of the mechanisms whereby lower income and education are associated with functional outcomes in older persons.

Key Words: African Americans • ethnicity • health inequalities • activities of daily living • functional limitations

Journal of Aging and Health, Vol. 21, No. 5, 677-698 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0898264309338296
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