title: Growing Old Behind Bars: Health Profiles of the Older Male Inmate Population in the United States.
abstract: This study examines patterns of multimorbidity among elderly male inmates across four domains of health (chronic medical conditions, drug- and alcohol-related diseases, impairments, and mental and behavioral health) to understand the complex health care needs of this growing population.
  
  
  
  We use the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities and Latent Class Regression Analysis to examine 22 health problems among 1,026 men aged 50 and older.
  
  
  
  There are four groups of elderly male inmates: (a) relatively healthy (45.1%), (b) substance users with behavioral health issues (23.4%), (c) chronic unhealthy with impairments and violence/injury (23.6%), and (d) very unhealthy across all domains (7.9%). These groups have unique sociodemographic background and incarceration history characteristics.
  
  
  
  This study demonstrates the complexity of health for elderly inmates. Prison health should continue to be monitored to aid correctional and community health programs in understanding clinical risks, exposures, and health care needs for this population.
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Boulder, USA Kathryn.Nowotny@Colorado.edu.
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Nowotny
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cepeda
authors.affiliation: Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: James-Hawkins
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Boulder, USA.
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Boardman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners; D011330:Prisons; D014481:United States
keywords: aging; chronic illness; comorbidity; injuries; mental health; prisoners; prisons