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Mortality Risk in Older Inner‐City African Americans
Author(s) -
Malmstrom Theodore K.,
Andresen Elena M.,
Wolinsky Fredric D.,
Philip Miller J.,
Stamps Kathryn,
Miller Douglas K.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2007.01204.x
Subject(s) - medicine , psychosocial , socioeconomic status , gerontology , demography , cohort study , cohort , prospective cohort study , population , disease , longevity , environmental health , surgery , psychiatry , sociology
OBJECTIVES: To investigate mortality risks in a sample of poor, inner‐city‐dwelling, older African Americans. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: St. Louis, Missouri. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred twenty‐two African Americans aged 68 to 102 at the time of their 1992 to 1994 baseline interviews. MEASUREMENTS: Risk factors previously identified in the literature were examined for seven categories: demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, biomedical, disability and physical function, perceived health, and health services utilization. Vital status was ascertained through 2002. RESULTS: Three hundred eighty‐six subjects (62.1%) were deceased and 236 were alive (mortality higher than in matched controls). Significant risks for mortality were older age, male sex, annual income less than $10,000, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, dependencies in lower‐body function, and number of physician visits in the 12 months before baseline. CONCLUSION: In addition to improving the risk factors for stroke and malignant disease in this population, studies focused on improving lower‐body functioning may be warranted as a part of efforts aimed at enhancing longevity in older African‐American adults.