title: The association between skin color/race and health indicators in elderly Brazilians: a study based on the Brazilian National Household Sample Survey (2008).
abstract: This study analyzed racial inequalities in health in 18,684 elderly Brazilians 65 years or older, interviewed in the National Household Sample Survey in 2008 (PNAD 2008), and who reported their color/race as white, brown, or black. Associations were estimated between self-rated health status, functional incapacity, and number of chronic conditions according to crude and adjusted regression analyses (α = 0.01). The majority of the elderly were white (56.2%). In the adjusted analysis, brown color/races was associated with worse self-rated health status (OR = 1.11; 95%CI: 1.03-1.18) and black color/race was associated with more chronic diseases (PR = 1.07; 95%CI: 1.02-1.13). Brown color/race appeared as a protective factor against functional incapacity. When brown and black elderly were combined in one category ("black"), "black" elderly continued to show worse self-rated health status (OR = 1.09; 95%CI: 1.02-1.16) and lower odds of functional incapacity (OR = 0.83; 95%CI: 0.76-0.92). "Black" color/race lost the association with number of chronic diseases. Color/race explained part of the health inequalities in elderly Brazilians, but other socioeconomic variables had a more striking effect.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, Brasil.
authors.forename: Bruno Luciano Carneiro Alves de
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, Brasil.
authors.forename: Erika Barbara Abreu Fonseca
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Thomaz
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, Brasil.
authors.forename: Raimundo Antonio da
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D012880:Skin Pigmentation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D044465:White People