title: Racial differences in mortality among men hospitalized in military hospitals.
abstract: A comparative study was conducted on patients in military hospitals in response to recent studies at veterans hospitals showing the possibility that access to an equal-access health care system may reduce or reverse racial differences in mortality outcomes. Using a cohort study of 14,122 military retirees admitted to military hospitals with any of six common medical diagnoses between October 2000 and September 2004, we evaluated differences in patient and hospital characteristics and evaluated race-specific hospital mortality. Despite long-term equal access to comprehensive medical care, there were significant racial differences in patient- and hospital-level risk factors among male military retirees hospitalized with common medical diagnoses. In unadjusted analyses, risk of hospital mortality was significantly lower in African Americans and other non-Caucasians when compared to Caucasians, but differences disappeared after adjustment for all risk factors.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 452 Rich Street, Oakland, CA 94609, USA.
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Meyers
authors.forename: Anthony S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.forename: Ginny L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Gildengorin
authors.forename: J Kevin
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Grayson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000208:ethnology*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*