Self-rated health and race among Hispanic and non-Hispanic adults.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between race and self-rated health among Hispanics and non-Hispanics using data from the National Health Interview Survey 2000-2003.


METHODS
This analysis was limited to Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites and blacks > or =18 years of age. The outcome was self-rated health. The main independent variable was race/ethnicity, and potential confounders included sociodemographic characteristics, access to care, health behaviors, and comorbidities.


RESULTS
Non-Hispanic blacks exhibited the highest prevalence of fair/poor self-rated health compared to their white counterparts. In the adjusted analyses, compared to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks (OR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.16-1.43), Hispanic whites (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.14-1.52) and blacks (OR: 2.19; 95% CI: 1.07-4.49) were more likely to rate their health as fair/poor. There was no difference in self-rated health between Hispanic and non-Hispanic blacks.


CONCLUSIONS
This study underscores the importance of accounting for the racial heterogeneity among Hispanics when presenting health data. Ignoring race could mask health variations among Hispanics.
Borrell
Luisa N
LN
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. lnb2@columbia.edu
Dallo
Florence J
FJ
D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American