title: Self-rated health among Hispanic vs non-Hispanic white adults: the San Luis Valley Health and Aging Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated whether objective health indicators explained lower self-rated health among Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic Whites. It also considered socioeconomic and cultural explanations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Health ratings of 429 Hispanics and 583 non-Hispanic Whites aged 20 through 74 were analyzed with logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Illness indicators were found to be strongly correlated with self-rated health in both ethnic groups, but after such markers were controlled for, Hispanics remained 3.6 times more likely to report fair or poor health (95% confidence interval = 2.4, 5.3). Adjustment for socioeconomic factors accounted for a portion of Hispanics' lower health rating, but the strongest explanatory factor was acculturation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because of cultural and economic influences on definitions of health, ethnic differences in self-assessed health may not accurately reflected patterns resulting from objective health measurements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver 80262, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Shetterly
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baxter
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Hamman
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*