Social disparities in physical functioning by race, ethnicity, and immigration status

项目摘要/摘要 尽管在外国出生的拉丁裔比非拉丁裔白人的预期寿命要长得多 在美国，他们更有可能因残疾而多活几年。社会经济学 种族和民族之间的差异不能单独解释种族/民族差异 残疾。以前对这些不平等的原因的研究主要集中在 有差别地获得医疗保健、早期生活条件、环境等解释 暴露、个人健康行为和压力。我们调查了另一个潜在的机制：种族 和工作中的种族差异--即身体和心理社会条件的累积影响 在一生中作为工作经历。美国的职业结构高度分层， 种族/民族和性别以及对职业健康的广泛研究表明， 身体和心理社会工作条件与健康结果之间的关系。我们的目标是 确定生命周期中工作条件的种族和民族差异是否可以考虑到 部分，因为中年和老年拉丁裔在身体机能方面有明显更高的限制 与白人相比。我们使用健康和退休研究(HRS)和Match的数据 这项调查的就业历史以及按职业代码分列的工作条件数据 受访者来自职业信息网(O*Net)的工作。分析的基础是 身体机能限制和死亡率作为以下因素的函数的生长曲线和风险模型 工作条件和其他变量的历史。身体功能减退可能会显著 降低老年人的生活质量，大幅增加医疗保健支出。功能性 限制在社会群体中更为常见，包括拉丁裔，尤其是拉丁裔 移民，他们拥有最少的资源来应对这些限制。这项研究的结果 将极大地提高我们对职业隔离和工作条件在 导致拉丁裔人口中功能障碍的比率更高。

Project Summary / Abstract Although foreign-born Latinos have significantly higher life expectancy than non-Latino whites in the U.S., they are more likely to spend those additional years of life with a disability. Socioeconomic variations among race and ethnic groups cannot alone account for race/ethnic differences in disability. Previous research on the causes of these inequalities has primarily focused on explanations such as differential access to health care, early life conditions, environmental exposures, personal health behaviors, and stress. We investigate another potential mechanism: race and ethnic differences in work – i.e., the cumulative effects of physical and psychosocial conditions experienced as work throughout life. The US occupational structure is highly stratified by race/ethnicity and gender and extensive research on occupational health has demonstrated a strong relationship between physical and psychosocial work conditions and health outcomes. Our goal is to determine whether racial and ethnic differences in work conditions over the life course can account, in part, for significantly higher limitations in physical functioning among middle aged and older Latinos compared to whites. We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and match employment histories from this survey with data on work conditions by occupational code for respondents' jobs from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). The analysis is based on growth curve and hazard models of limitations in physical functioning and mortality as a function of histories of work conditions and other variables. Reduced physical functioning can significantly diminish quality of life at older ages and greatly increase health care expenditures. Functional limitations are more common among social groups, including Latinos and particularly Latino immigrants, who have the fewest resources to cope with these limitations. The results of this study will significantly advance our knowledge of the role occupational segregation and work conditions in leading to higher rates of functional limitations among the Latino population.