SES AND AGE-RELATED DISABILITY IN A BIRACIAL COMMUNITY

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DESCRIPTION (Taken from the Investigators' Abstract) The goal of the proposed project is to conduct an epidemiologic study to examine the biological and environmental mechanisms by which relative socioeconomic deprivation leads to disability in older people. Age-related disability is generally considered to be the most important measure of overall health status in the elderly, and a major cause of poor quality of life at that age. There are significant disparities in disability among persons with different socioeconomic positions, yet the reasons for these disparities are poorly understood. The study will test whether these disparities in disability are due to a combination of greater biological risk and adverse neighborhood conditions. These mechanisms are hypothesized to increase risk for disability through their negative effect on participation in everyday social and physical activity. The investigators propose to also test racial differences in disability, and examine the degree to which they are a result of socioeconomic deprivation or other factors. Finally, they will develop, implement, and evaluate outreach and educational programs aimed at increasing awareness about factors by which socioeconomic deprivation can lead to disability. The proposed project will take advantage of an ongoing study on risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease in a geographically defined, biracial community in the Southside of Chicago. This study will hopefully contribute detailed biological and sociodemographic data on a cohort of more than 8,000 elderly African Americans and Whites, as well as add a detailed assessment of the physical and social qualities of the neighborhoods and annual ascertainment of disability to supplement the existing data. The aging of the population adds urgency to a better understanding of the factors that prevent potential increases in disparities in age-related disability among the socially disadvantaged.