title: Does the Hispanic Paradox in U.S. Adult Mortality Extend to Disability?
abstract: Studies consistently document a Hispanic paradox in U.S. adult mortality, whereby Hispanics have similar or lower mortality rates than non-Hispanic whites despite lower socioeconomic status. This study extends this line of inquiry to disability, especially among foreign-born Hispanics, since their advantaged mortality seemingly should be paired with health advantages more generally. We also assess whether the paradox extends to U.S.-born Hispanics to evaluate the effect of nativity. We calculate multistate life tables of life expectancy with disability to assess whether racial/ethnic and nativity differences in the length of disability-free life parallel differences in overall life expectancy. Our results document a Hispanic paradox in mortality for foreign-born and U.S.-born Hispanics. However, Hispanics' low mortality rates are not matched by low disability rates. Their disability rates are substantially higher than those of non-Hispanic whites and generally similar to those of non-Hispanic blacks. The result is a protracted period of disabled life expectancy for Hispanics, both foreign- and U.S.-born.
authors.affiliation: Population Research Center and Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA, mhayward@prc.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Hayward
authors.affiliation: Population Research Center and Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hummer
authors.affiliation: Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Chi-Tsun
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Geriatrics, Mexico, Mexico.
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: González-González
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Rebeca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wong
keywords: Disability; Disabled life expectancy; Hispanic paradox; Mortality; Nativity
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