title: Mortality risk in older inner-city African Americans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate mortality risks in a sample of poor, inner-city-dwelling, older African Americans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  St. Louis, Missouri.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six hundred twenty-two African Americans aged 68 to 102 at the time of their 1992 to 1994 baseline interviews.
  
  
  METHODS
  Risk factors previously identified in the literature were examined for seven categories: demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, biomedical, disability and physical function, perceived health, and health services utilization. Vital status was ascertained through 2002.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three hundred eighty-six subjects (62.1%) were deceased and 236 were alive (mortality higher than in matched controls). Significant risks for mortality were older age, male sex, annual income less than $10,000, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, dependencies in lower-body function, and number of physician visits in the 12 months before baseline.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In addition to improving the risk factors for stroke and malignant disease in this population, studies focused on improving lower-body functioning may be warranted as a part of efforts aimed at enhancing longevity in older African-American adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri 63104, USA. malmsttk@slu.edu
authors.forename: Theodore K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Malmstrom
authors.forename: Elena M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Andresen
authors.forename: Fredric D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Wolinsky
authors.forename: J Philip
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stamps
authors.forename: Douglas K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D008923:Missouri / Q000453:epidemiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D014505:Urban Population