Emotional and physical reactions to perceived discrimination, language preference, and health-related quality of life among Latinos and Whites.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether emotional and physical reactions to perceived discrimination are associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among whites and Latinos (by language preference) in Arizona. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis using the Arizona Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2012-2014) was restricted to non-Hispanic white and Latino (grouped by English- or Spanish-language preference) participants who completed the Reactions to Race optional module (N = 14,623). Four core items from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Healthy Days Measures were included: self-rated health; physically unhealthy, mentally unhealthy; and functionally limited days. Poisson regression models estimated prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for poor self-rated health. Multinomial logistic models estimated odds ratios and 95% CI for poor mental, physical, and functionally limited days (defined as 14 + more days). Models were adjusted for sociodemographics, health behaviors, and multimorbidity. RESULTS: Reports of emotional and physical reactions to perceived discrimination were highest among Spanish-language preference Latinos. Both Spanish- and English-language preference Latinos were more likely to report poor self-rated health in comparison to whites. In separate fully adjusted models, physical reactions were positively associated with each HRQOL measure. Emotional reactions were only associated with reporting 14 + mental unhealthy (aOR 3.16; 95% CI 1.82; 5.48) and functionally limited days (aOR 1.93; 95% CI 1.04, 3.58). CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study suggest that physical and emotional reactions to perceived discrimination can manifest as diminished HRQOL. Consistent collection of population-based measures of perceived discrimination is warranted to track and monitor differential health vulnerability that affect Latinos.

Race, gender, and cohort differences in the educational experiences of Black and White Americans.

Federal legislation and judicial intervention led to significant transformation in the U.S. education system during the early to mid-20th century. These changes may differentiate older adults in their experiences of aging, particularly at the intersection of race, gender, and cohort, but are not well documented among current cohorts of older adults. Our study addresses this gap by providing rich, descriptive information on the educational experiences of U.S. adults who attended primary or secondary school between 1915 and 1977. We used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative, prospective study of U.S. adults over age 50 years. The HRS collected information on respondents' schooling history and experiences through a Life History Mail Survey (LHMS). We restricted our sample to age-eligible HRS-LHMS respondents who self-identified as non-Hispanic White or non-Hispanic Black and completed at least 75% of their primary or secondary schooling in the U.S. (n=10,632). Educational experiences, defined as pre-k to post-secondary education, varied across cohort, regardless of race or gender. Greater course offerings, improvements in learning support, and increasing exposure to integrated schools occurred across successive cohorts. We found the highest rates of enrollment in college preparatory curriculum and foreign-language courses as well as diagnosed learning differences in cohorts born after 1948. Among White adults, many of the gender differences in educational experiences documented in the oldest cohort were still found among the most recent cohort. Few gender differences, however, were found for Black adults regardless of cohort. Conversely, most race inequities in educational experiences persisted. Such inequities may be an important source of continued differences in experiences of aging observed across demographic groups.

Regional variation in U.S dementia trends from 2000-2012.

Although recent studies report a decline in dementia prevalence among U.S. older adults, national trends may mask subnational variation, particularly given large health and social inequalities linked to geography. To address this gap, we determined if there was subnational variation in reported national dementia trends and if region-specific trends were explained by sociodemographic and health characteristics. Data come from the 2000 (n = 10,447) and 2012 (10,426) waves of the Health and Retirement Study. We used validated methods for dementia classification using proxy and self-respondents. Logistic regression models, adjusted for within-person clustering over time, estimated trends in dementia prevalence by region and census division. We found subnational variation in dementia prevalence in both 2000 and 2012, as well as in change in dementia prevalence during this period. In 2000, dementia prevalence was lowest in the West (8.6%), higher in the Midwest (10.0%) and Northeast (11.1%), and highest in the South (14.6%). Dementia prevalence declined over time across all regions of the U.S. from 2000 to 2012 but remained highest in the South (10.7%) compared to the other regions (7.0-7.8%). Despite downward trends in dementia across the U.S., the prevalence of dementia in the South in 2012 approximated levels found in other regions in 2000. There was relatively less change over time in the West compared to other regions, but dementia prevalence was already quite low in the West in 2000. Within region, trends in dementia prevalence between 2000 and 2012 also varied slightly across census divisions. Subnational variation in changes in dementia prevalence were largely explained by education and health status. Variation in baseline prevalence, as well as differential rates of change, highlight the importance of examining subnational variation in dementia trends.

Do gender and racial/ethnic disparities in sleep duration emerge in early adulthood? Evidence from a longitudinal study of U.S. adults.

OBJECTIVE: Gender and racial/ethnic disparities in sleep duration are well documented among the U.S. adult population, but we know little about how these disparities are shaped during the early course of adult life, a period marked by substantial changes in social roles that can influence time for sleep. METHODS: Prospective data was used from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), a U.S.-based representative sample of persons born between 1980 and 1984, who were first interviewed in 1997. Sleep duration was assessed in 2002, 2007/2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. Random-coefficient models were estimated to examine gender and racial/ethnic disparities in trajectories of sleep duration across early adulthood as a function of educational experiences, employment, and family relationships. RESULTS: Sleep duration declined during early adulthood. Women reported shorter sleep than men from age 18 to 22, but slept longer than men by age 28. Black Young adults reported sleep durations similar to those of White young adults until age 24, after which blacks slept less than whites. Educational experiences and employment characteristics reduced gender and racial/ethnic disparities, but family relationships exacerbated them. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to establish the emergence of gender and racial/ethnic disparities in sleep duration during early adulthood.

How does early adulthood arrest alter substance use behavior? Are there differential effects by race/ethnicity and gender?

PURPOSE: Much criminal justice research has ignored racial/ethnic and gender differences in substance use subsequent to criminal justice involvement. This paper investigated how early adulthood arrest (i.e., 18 to 21 years of age) influences individuals' subsequent transitions from non-substance use to substance use, and substance use to non-substance use through age 30. We also consider if these relationships differ by race/ethnicity and gender. Processes proscribed by labeling theory subsequent to getting arrested are considered. METHODS: We analyzed 15 waves of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Multinomial logistic regressions were performed using Stata software version 14. RESULTS: We found racial/ethnic differences in the effect of arrest on subsequent substance use, particularly marijuana. Being arrested was associated with shifting non-binge drinkers and non-marijuana users into binge drinking and marijuana use; as well as shifting binge drinkers and marijuana users into non-use. This pattern was most evident among White and Black men. For Black men, the association between arrest and both becoming a binge drinker and becoming a non-binge drinker was experienced most strongly during their early twenties. Women's patterns in substance use transitions following an arrest were less clear than for the men. CONCLUSION: Some results, particularly transitioning into marijuana use, offer qualified support for processes proscribed through labeling theory. Findings that arrest shifts individuals into non-marijuana use suggest that factors not accounted for by labeling theory - arrest serving as a teachable moment for those using substances - may be at play.