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Neighborhood context and mortality among older Mexican Americans: is there a barrio advantage?
Karl Eschbach1, Glenn V Ostir, Kushang V Patel
1University of Texas Medical Branch, Department of Internal Medicine-Geriatrics, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX 77555-0460, USA. kaeschba@utmb.edu
Objectives:
We examined whether Mexican Americans living in high-density Mexican American neighborhoods experience increased morbidity and mortality compared with the rates observed among Mexican Americans living in low-density areas.
Methods:
We conducted a prospective analysis of a cohort of 3050 Mexican Americans aged 65 years or older. We examined prevalence of 6 medical conditions and survival over 7 years of follow-up in relation to percentage of Mexican Americans in the census tract.
Results:
With adjustment for covariates, odds for disease prevalence among older Mexican Americans as a function of percentage of Mexican Americans in the census tract were 0.33 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.16, 0.71) for stroke, 0.28 (95% CI= 0.11, 0.70) for cancer, and 0.31 (95% CI=0.10, 0.98) for hip fracture. The hazard ratio for all-cause mortality over 7 years' follow-up was 0.64 (95% CI=0.42, 0.96).
Conclusions:
Sociocultural advantages conferred on Mexican Americans by living in high-density Mexican American neighborhoods outweigh the disadvantages conferred by the high poverty of those neighborhoods.
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