Longitudinal Impacts of Preexisting Conditions on Future Health Outcomes among Aged Minority Populations in the United States

Beverly P. Lyons, Long Island University

Concern over health trajectories among older racial and ethnic minorities is increasing. This increased emphasis on health disparities draws from a long history of concerns reflected in studies that show clear racial and ethnic differences in mortality rates, morbidity risks and health outcomes across the life course as well as the consistent relationship between race and socioeconomic status. Drawing upon foundation studies for theoretical guidance, the present study uses longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to test a conceptual framework that refines existing measures of health and attempts to identify fresh links in the relationships between race, ethnicity and SES upon health outcomes. It is argued that the conceptual framework that underlies the analysis of the measures using a negative binomial distribution increases the explanatory power of the model and provides outcomes that provide new insights into the impacts of social inequalities on health outcomes among minorities.