title: Living and dying in the U.S.A.: sociodemographic determinants of death among blacks and whites.
abstract: This paper examines the demographic and social factors associated with differences in length of life by race. The results demonstrate that sociodemographic factors--age, sex, marital status, family size, and income--profoundly affect black and white mortality. Indeed, the racial gap in overall mortality could close completely with increased standards of living and improved lifestyles. Moreover, examining cause-specific mortality while adjusting for social factors shows that compared to whites, blacks have a lower mortality risk from respiratory diseases, accidents, and suicide; the same risk from circulatory diseases and cancer; and higher risks from infectious diseases, homicide, and diabetes. These results underscore the importance of examining social characteristics to understand more clearly the race differences in overall and cause-specific mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309.
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D002423:Cause of Death; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009026:Mortality; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States