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

项目概要/摘要 尽管在国外出生的拉丁裔人的预期寿命明显高于非拉丁裔白人， 美国，他们更有可能在残疾的情况下度过这些额外的岁月。社会经济 种族和族裔群体之间的差异不能单独解释种族/族裔差异， 残疾。以前对这些不平等原因的研究主要集中在 解释，如获得保健的机会不同，早期生活条件， 暴露、个人健康行为和压力。我们研究了另一个潜在的机制：种族 以及工作中的种族差异--即，身体和心理社会条件的累积效应 一生都在工作。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 确定是否种族和民族差异的工作条件在整个生命过程中可以解释， 部分原因是中年和老年拉丁美洲人身体功能的限制明显增加 与白人相比。我们使用健康与退休研究（HRS）的数据， 根据这项调查的就业历史， 职业信息网络（Occupational Information Network，O*NET）。该分析是基于 身体机能限制和死亡率的增长曲线和危险模型， 工作条件和其他变量的历史。身体机能的下降 降低老年人的生活质量，大大增加医疗保健支出。功能 限制在社会群体中更为普遍，包括拉丁美洲人，特别是拉丁美洲人， 移民，他们拥有最少的资源来科普这些限制。本研究结果 这将大大提高我们对职业隔离和工作条件的认识， 导致拉丁裔人口中功能限制的比率更高。

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.