TY - JOUR T1 - Racial/Ethnic Differences in Trajectories of Cognitive Function in Older Adults. JF - J Aging Health Y1 - 2016 A1 - Elizabeth Vasquez A1 - Anda Botoseneanu A1 - Joan M. Bennett A1 - Benjamin A Shaw KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Black People KW - Cognition KW - Cognition Disorders KW - Female KW - Health Behavior KW - Hispanic or Latino KW - Humans KW - Male KW - White People AB -

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to (a) examine racial/ethnic differences in trajectories of cognitive function and (b) evaluate the role of education and health behaviors (physical activity [PA] and smoking) as mediators of racial/ethnic differences in the rate of decline in cognitive function in older adults.

METHOD: Data for this study came from the Health and Retirement Study ( n = 3,424). Hierarchical linear models were used to define the trajectory of cognitive function between 2002 and 2008. Participants were classified based on PA as non-vigorously active, intermittent vigorously active, and consistently vigorously active.

RESULTS: After adding education, the Hispanic's and Black's disparities in cognitive performance were slightly attenuated (Hispanics, β = -1.049, p < .001; Blacks, β = -3.397, p < .001) but were still different from Whites. Smoking was not associated with the cognition intercept or rate of decline.

DISCUSSION: We found education had a partial mediating effect on racial differences in levels of cognition but not on the rate of change over time.

VL - 28 UR - http://jah.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/12/29/0898264315620589.abstract IS - 8 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26719488?dopt=Abstract U4 - cognition/education/ethnicity/physical activity/smoking ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Socioeconomic inequalities in health after age 50: Are health risk behaviors to blame? JF - Social Science and Medicine Y1 - 2014 A1 - Benjamin A Shaw A1 - McGeever, Kelly A1 - Elizabeth Vasquez A1 - Agahi, Neda A1 - Fors, Stefan KW - Demographics KW - Disabilities KW - Health Conditions and Status KW - Other AB - Recent studies indicate that socioeconomic inequalities in health extend into the elderly population, even within the most highly developed welfare states. One potential explanation for socioeconomic inequalities in health focuses on the role of health behaviors, but little is known about the degree to which health behaviors account for health inequalities among older adults, in particular. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 19,245), this study examined the degree to which four behavioral risk factors smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and heavy drinking are associated with socioeconomic position among adults aged 51 and older, and whether these behaviors mediate socioeconomic differences in mortality, and the onset of disability among those who were disability-free at baseline, over a 10-year period from 1998 to 2008. Results indicate that the odds of both smoking and physical inactivity are higher among persons with lower wealth, with similar stratification in obesity, but primarily among women. The odds of heavy drinking decrease at lower levels of wealth. Significant socioeconomic inequalities in mortality and disability onset are apparent among older men and women; however, the role that health behaviors play in accounting for these inequalities differs by age and gender. For example, these health behaviors account for between 23 and 45 of the mortality disparities among men and middle aged women, but only about 5 of the disparities found among women over 65 years. Meanwhile, these health behaviors appear to account for about 33 of the disparities in disability onset found among women survivors, and about 9-14 among men survivors. These findings suggest that within the U.S. elderly population, behavioral risks such as smoking and physical inactivity contribute moderately to maintaining socioeconomic inequalities in health. As such, promoting healthier lifestyles among the socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults should help to reduce later life health inequalities. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. PB - 101 VL - 101 N1 - Times Cited: 0 U4 - Aging/socioeconomic status/Smoking/physical activity/Obesity/Disability/Disability/Mortality/PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY/OLDER-ADULTS/US ADULTS/MORTALITY RISK/MORTALITY RISK/UNITED-STATES/SMOKING/DISPARITIES/OBESITY/ASSOCIATION/LONGEVITY ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The role of pain in understanding racial/ethnic differences in the frequency of physical activity among older adults. JF - J Aging Health Y1 - 2013 A1 - Grubert, Elizabeth A1 - Tamara A. Baker A1 - McGeever, Kelly A1 - Benjamin A Shaw KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Black or African American KW - Female KW - Health Surveys KW - Hispanic or Latino KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Motor Activity KW - pain KW - Severity of Illness Index KW - United States KW - White People AB -

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate racial/ethnic differences in physical activity among white, black, and Hispanic adults aged 65 years and older, and to assess the potential role of pain as a mediator.

METHODS: Analyses were based on data from the 2008 Health and Retirement Study. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between race/ethnicity and pain and the odds of regular physical activity.

RESULTS: Compared to Whites, the odds of both light physical activity and moderate/vigorous physical activity were lower among Blacks, but not Hispanics. A graded inverse association between levels of pain severity and the odds of physical activity was found, but pain did not mediate racial/ethnic differences in physical activity.

DISCUSSION: When compared to Whites, older Blacks appear to have relatively low rates of physical activity even without comparatively high levels of pain, while older Hispanics experience relatively high rates of pain, but are perhaps more resilient to the effects of pain on physical activity.

PB - 25 VL - 25 IS - 3 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23271728?dopt=Abstract U3 - 23271728 U4 - racial Differences/sociodemographic differences/sociodemographic differences/ethnic differences/Physical Activity/African American/Hispanic ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A prospective cohort study of health behavior profiles after age 50 and mortality risk. JF - BMC Public Health Y1 - 2012 A1 - Benjamin A Shaw A1 - Agahi, Neda KW - Aged KW - Alcohol-Related Disorders KW - Female KW - Follow-Up Studies KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Prospective Studies KW - Regression Analysis KW - Risk Assessment KW - Risk-Taking KW - Sedentary Behavior KW - Smoking KW - United States AB -

BACKGROUND: This study examines the mortality risk associated with distinct combinations of multiple risk behaviors in middle-aged and older adults, and assesses whether the mortality risks of certain health behaviors are moderated by the presence of other risk behaviors.

METHODS: Data for this prospective cohort study are from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationwide sample of adults older than 50 years. Baseline data are from respondents (n = 19,662) to the 1998 wave of the HRS. Twelve distinct health behavior profiles were created, based on each respondent's smoking, physical activity, and alcohol use status in 1998. Mortality risk was estimated through 2008 using Cox regression.

RESULTS: Smoking was associated with elevated risk for mortality within all behavioral profiles, but risk was greatest when combined with heavy drinking, both for middle-aged (ages 51-65) and older (ages 66+) adults. Profiles that included physical inactivity were also associated with increased mortality risk in both age groups. However, the impact of inactivity was clearly evident only among non-smokers; among smokers, the risk of inactivity was less evident, and seemingly overshadowed by the risk of smoking. Moderate drinking was protective relative to abstinence among non-smokers, and relative to heavy drinking among smokers.

CONCLUSIONS: In both middle-aged and older adults, multiple unhealthy behaviors increase mortality risk. However, the level of risk varies across unique combinations of unhealthy behaviors. These findings highlight the role that lifestyle improvements could play in promoting healthy aging, and provide insight into which behavioral combinations should receive top priority for intervention.

PB - 12 VL - 12 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22989155?dopt=Abstract U4 - Alcohol/alcohol Abuse/Alcohol-Related Disorders -- mortality/Regression Analysis/Risk-Taking/Sedentary Lifestyle/Risk Assessment/smoking/Smoking -- mortality/Public Health And Safety/gender Differences ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Evolving self-rated health in middle and old age: how does it differ across Black, Hispanic, and White Americans? JF - J Aging Health Y1 - 2010 A1 - Jersey Liang A1 - A. R. Quinones A1 - Joan M. Bennett A1 - Wen Ye A1 - Xiao Xu A1 - Benjamin A Shaw A1 - Mary Beth Ofstedal KW - Age Factors KW - Aged KW - Aging KW - Black or African American KW - Diagnostic Self Evaluation KW - Female KW - Health Status Disparities KW - Hispanic or Latino KW - Humans KW - Linear Models KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - United States KW - White People AB -

OBJECTIVE: This research focuses on ethnic variations in the intraindividual changes in self-rated health.

METHOD: Data came from the Health and Retirement Study involving up to 6 repeated observations between 1995 and 2006 of a national sample of 18,486 Americans above 50 years of age. Hierarchical linear models were employed in depicting variations in self-rated health across White, Black, and Hispanic Americans.

RESULTS: Subjective health worsened over time albeit moderately. Relative to younger persons, older individuals rated their health poorer with a greater rate of deteriorating health. With reference to ethnic variations in the intercept and slope of perceived health, White Americans rated their health most positively, followed by Black Americans, with Hispanics rating their health least positively. This pattern held even when socioeconomic status, social networks, and prior health were adjusted.

DISCUSSION: Significant ethnic differences exist in the evolvement of self-rated health in middle and late life. Further inquiries may include analyzing ethnic heterogeneities from a person-centered perspective, health disparities across subgroups of Hispanics, effects of neighborhood attributes, and implications of left truncation.

PB - 22 VL - 22 UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2833212/ IS - 1 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19952367?dopt=Abstract U2 - PMC2833212 U4 - Self-rated health/trajectory/ethnic differences/Mortality/Disabilities ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Gender differences in functional status in middle and older age: are there any age variations? JF - J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Y1 - 2008 A1 - Jersey Liang A1 - Joan M. Bennett A1 - Benjamin A Shaw A1 - Ana R Quiñones A1 - Wen Ye A1 - Xiao Xu A1 - Mary Beth Ofstedal KW - Activities of Daily Living KW - Age Factors KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Disabled Persons KW - Female KW - Health Status KW - Humans KW - Linear Models KW - Longitudinal Studies KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Sex Factors KW - United States AB -

OBJECTIVES: The present study examines gender differences in changes in functional status after age 50 and how such differences vary across different age groups.

METHODS: Data came from the Health and Retirement Study, involving up to six repeated observations of a national sample of Americans older than 50 years of age between 1995 and 2006. We employed hierarchical linear models with time-varying covariates in depicting temporal variations in functional status between men and women.

RESULTS: As a quadratic function, the worsening of functional status was more accelerated in terms of the intercept and rate of change among women and those in older age groups. In addition, gender differences in the level of functional impairment were more substantial in older persons than in younger individuals, although differences in the rate of change between men and women remained constant across age groups.

DISCUSSION: A life course perspective can lead to new insights regarding gender variations in health within the context of intrapersonal and interpersonal differences. Smaller gender differences in the level of functional impairment in the younger groups may reflect improvement of women's socioeconomic status, greater rate of increase in chronic diseases among men, and less debilitating effects of diseases.

PB - 63B VL - 63 IS - 5 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18818448?dopt=Abstract U2 - PMC3454348 U4 - GENDER-DIFFERENCES/Health Physical ER -