Black-White disparities in disability among older Americans: further untangling the role of race and socioeconomic status.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the impact of adjusting for income and education on disparities in functional limitations and limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) between Black and White older Americans.


METHODS
Data from the 2003 American Community Survey were used to examine the associations of education and income, stratified by race and gender, with functional limitations and ADLs, in a sample of 16,870 non-Hispanic Blacks and 186,086 non-Hispanic Whites aged 55 to 74. Sequential logistic regressions were used to examine the relative contribution of income and education to racial disparities.


RESULTS
Ninety percent of the Black-White difference in disability rates for men and 75% of the difference for women aged 55 to 64 were explained by income and education.


CONCLUSIONS
The greatly elevated risk of disability among Blacks aged 55 to 74 is largely explained by differences in socioeconomic status. Reductions in Black-White health disparities require a better understanding of the mechanisms whereby lower income and education are associated with functional outcomes in older persons.
Fuller-Thomson
Esme
E
Faculty of Social Work & Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor Street W., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1. esme.fuller.thomson@utoronto.ca
Nuru-Jeter
A
A
Minkler
Meredith
M
Guralnik
Jack M
JM
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D044465:White People