@article {12221, title = {A National Study of Racial-Ethnic Differences in COVID-19 Concerns among Older Americans: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.}, journal = {The Journal of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {e134-e141}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Concerns about COVID-19 is an important emotional reaction to the pandemic and represents a key pandemic-related mental health outcome. We provide the first population-based evidence of racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 concerns among older Americans during the COVID-19 outbreak.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2020 Health and Retirement Study COVID-19 project. The sample included 2,879 respondents (aged 50 and older) who were interviewed from June to September 2020 and had completed measures on COVID-19 concerns and other key covariates. Ordinary least squares regression models were estimated to assess racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 concerns. Formal mediation analysis was conducted to test potential mediating roles of exposures to COVID-19 risks, preexisting health status, and socioeconomic resources in accounting for racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 concerns.

RESULTS: Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic Americans showed significantly greater concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic than non-Hispanic White Americans. Racial-ethnic minority older adults also had higher proportions of knowing someone who had contracted or died from COVID-19 than White older adults. Unequal exposures to COVID-19 risks by race-ethnicity and, to a lesser degree, preexisting health inequalities accounted for only part of the racial-ethnic differences in COVID-19 concerns.

DISCUSSION: Our findings call for more research and policy interventions to lessen the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 experienced by older adults of racial-ethnic minority groups.

}, keywords = {COVID-19, Health Disparities, Minority aging, race-ethnicity}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbab171}, author = {Lin, Zhiyong and Liu, Hui} } @article {11731, title = {Parental Death and Cognitive Impairment: An Examination by Gender and Race-ethnicity.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B}, volume = {76}, year = {2022}, pages = {1164-1176}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: We provide the first nationally representative longitudinal study of cognitive impairment in relation to parental death from childhood through early adulthood, midlife, and later adulthood, with attention to heterogeneity in the experience of parental death.

METHOD: We analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000-2016). The sample included 13,392 respondents, contributing 72,860 person-periods. Cognitive impairment was assessed using the modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS). Discrete-time hazard regression models were estimated to predict the odds of cognitive impairment.

RESULTS: Both exposure and timing of parental death were related to risk of cognitive impairment in late life and associations vary by gender. The detrimental effect of a father{\textquoteright}s death was comparable for daughters and sons although exposure to mother{\textquoteright}s death had stronger effects on daughter{\textquoteright}s than son{\textquoteright}s risk of cognitive impairment. Father{\textquoteright}s death at younger ages had the strongest effect on sons{\textquoteright} late-life risk of cognitive impairment whereas mother{\textquoteright}s death in middle adulthood had the strongest effect on daughters{\textquoteright} risk. We found no significant racial-ethnic variation in the association between parental death and cognitive impairment.

DISCUSSION: It is important to explore the gender-specific pathways through which parental death leads to increased risk of cognitive impairment so that effective interventions can be implemented to reduce risk.

}, keywords = {cognitive impairment, gender, parental death, race-ethnicity}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbab125}, author = {Liu, Hui and Lin, Zhiyong and Debra Umberson} } @article { ISI:000513410500001, title = {Grandparenting and Mortality: How Does Race-Ethnicity Matter?}, journal = {JOURNAL OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR}, volume = {61}, year = {2020}, pages = {96-112}, abstract = {Little is known about whether and how intergenerational relationships influence older adult mortality. This study examines the association between caring for grandchildren (i.e., grandparenting) and mortality and how the link differs by race-ethnicity. Drawing from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2014, N = 13,705), I found different racial-ethnic patterns in the effects of grandparenting on mortality risk. White grandparents who provide intensive noncoresident grandparenting (i.e., over 500 hours of babysitting per two years) and multigenerational household grandparenting have a lower risk of mortality compared to noncaregiving grandparents. In contrast, black grandparents have a higher mortality risk than their noncaregiving counterparts when providing intensive noncoresident, multigenerational household, and skipped-generation household (i.e., grandparent-headed family) grandparenting. Caregiving Hispanic grandparents are not significantly different from their noncaregiving counterparts in mortality risk. These findings suggest that important variations in social and cultural contexts for racial-ethnic groups shape the consequences of grandparenting for older adult mortality.}, keywords = {Caregiving, grandparent, intergenerational relationships, Mortality, race-ethnicity}, issn = {0022-1465}, doi = {10.1177/0022146520903282}, author = {Seung-won Emily Choi} } @article {10554, title = {Measuring Racial/Ethnic Retirement Wealth Inequality}, number = {WP$\#$2020-2}, year = {2020}, institution = {Center for Retirement Research at Boston College}, abstract = {As the U.S. population becomes more diverse, it will be increasingly important for policymakers addressing Social Security{\textquoteright}s solvency to understand how reliant various racial and ethnic groups will be on the program versus other sources of retirement wealth. Yet, to date, studies on retirement wealth have tended not to focus on race and ethnicity, have largely ignored the role of Social Security, or have excluded the most recent cohort approaching retirement {\textendash} the Late Boomers. This project uses data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to document the retirement resources of white, black, and Hispanic households at various points in the wealth distribution for five HRS cohorts of 51-56 year olds between 1992 and 2016. }, keywords = {race-ethnicity, Wealth Inequality}, url = {https://crr.bc.edu/working-papers/measuring-racial-ethnic-retirement-wealth-inequality/}, author = {Wenliang Hou and Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher} } @article {11297, title = {Multiple Dimensions of Perceived Discrimination, Race-Ethnicity, and Mortality Risk Among Older Adults}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {4}, year = {2020}, pages = {581 }, abstract = {The present study utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study (N=12,988) to investigate the joint consequences of multiple dimensions of perceived discrimination on mortality risk. Perceived discrimination is based on responses from the 2006/2008 HRS waves and included everyday discrimination, the number of attributed reasons for everyday discrimination, and major lifetime discrimination. Vital status was obtained from the National Death Index and reports from key household informants (spanning 2006{\textendash}2016). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the risk of mortality. During the observation period, 3,494 deaths occurred. Only the number of attributed reasons for discrimination predicted mortality risk when all discrimination measures were estimated in the same model (Hazard Ratio [HR]=1.09; 95\%, Confidence Interval [CI]=1.05 - 1.14), holding all else constant. Overall, the number of attributed reasons for everyday discrimination is a particularly salient risk factor for mortality in later life.}, keywords = {mortality risk, Perceived Discrimination, race-ethnicity}, isbn = {2399-5300}, doi = {10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1936}, author = {Ryon J. Cobb} } @article {LIU2020, title = {Widowhood and Mortality: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and the Role of Economic Resources}, journal = {Annals of Epidemiology}, volume = {45}, year = {2020}, pages = {69-75.e1}, type = {Journal}, abstract = {Purpose We examine widowhood effects on mortality across gender and race-ethnicity, with attention to variation in the mediating role of economic resources. Methods Data were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2016). The analytic sample included 34,777 respondents aged 51 and older who contributed 208,470 person-period records. Discrete-time hazard models were estimated to predict the odds of death among white men, black men, Hispanic men, white women, black women, and Hispanic women separately. Karlson{\textendash}Holm{\textendash}Breen analysis was conducted to examine the mediating role of economic resources across groups. Results Across all gender and racial-ethnic subgroups, widowhood effects on mortality were largest for Hispanic men. Black women and Hispanic women also suffered stronger effects of widowhood on mortality than white women. For both men and women, economic resources were an important pathway through which widowhood increased mortality risk for whites and blacks but not for Hispanics. Conclusions Findings highlight that gender and race-ethnicity intersect with widowhood status to disadvantage some groups more than others. It is important to explore the complex pathways that contribute to the higher mortality risk of racial-ethnic minorities, especially Hispanic men, following widowhood so that effective interventions can be implemented to reduce those risks.}, keywords = {gender, Mortality, race-ethnicity, Widowhood}, issn = {1047-2797}, doi = {10.1016/j.annepidem.2020.02.006}, author = {Hui Liu and Debra Umberson and Minle Xu} } @article {10406, title = {ASSESSING THE ADEQUACY OF SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT BENEFITS ACROSS RACE-ETHNICITY, GENDER, AND AGE OF RETIREMENT}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {3}, year = {2019}, pages = {S890-S890}, abstract = {This research assessed the adequacy of Social Security retirement benefits across race-ethnicity, gender, and age of retirement, and in turn, whether the differing levels of benefit adequacy have any relation to mortality risk. Prior studies generally find that a replacement rate of between 70 to 80 percent of prior earnings would likely allow a worker to maintain his or her standard of living in retirement since various work-related expenses are reduced or eliminated at the point of transition. As such, the current study used panel data from the 1996 - 2016 waves of the Rand version of the Health and Retirement Study to 1) determine earnings replacement rates for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic males and females in the first period of retirement, and 2) to examine whether earnings replacement rates are associated with mortality risk in a Cox regression model. The findings revealed that for those retiring at age 65 or later, Hispanic females and White males had the lowest earnings replacement rates at 39.3\% and 40.7\%, respectively. For those retiring before age 65, Hispanic males and White males had the lowest earnings replacement rates at 30.3\% and 26.7\%. Although replacement rates should indeed be lower for high earners due to Social Security{\textquoteright}s progressive benefit formula, the low replacement rates determined for Hispanic males and females were unexpected. Moreover, mortality risk was found to be significantly associated with earnings replacement rates in the final model, but the combination of race-ethnicity and gender still showed a stronger relation.}, keywords = {gender, race-ethnicity, Retirement, Social Security, Social Security Benefits}, issn = {2399-5300}, doi = {10.1093/geroni/igz038.3257}, author = {Jin H. Kim} } @article {10455, title = {DEATH OF A CHILD AND MORTALITY RISK OVER THE LIFE COURSE: RACIAL DISADVANTAGE IN THE U.S.}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {3}, year = {2019}, pages = {S436-S436}, abstract = {Numerous studies show that bereavement, including bereavement following the death of a minor child, increases mortality risk in white populations. The death of a child prior to midlife has received much less attention. Moreover, recent research shows that black Americans are substantially more likely to lose a child compared to white Americans, but this racial disadvantage is largely unexplored. Losing a child is a traumatic event that may activate biopsychosocial and behavioral risk factors that add to mortality risk. We analyze longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2014) to assess the association of child loss prior to midlife with mortality risk in mid to later life, and the possible biopsychosocial and behavioral covariates linking child death to mortality. The analytic sample includes 20,489 non-Hispanic white respondents and 5,328 non-Hispanic black respondents who have ever given birth to or fathered at least one child. Findings suggest that that the death of a child prior to midlife is associated with increased mortality risk, net of sociodemographic controls. Psychological (e.g., depressive symptoms), behavioral (e.g., alcohol use, smoking), and social (e.g., income, marital status) factors explain this heightened mortality risk. Although the heightened mortality risk for child loss is similar for black and white parents, black parents experience a greater disadvantage as they are almost twice as likely as white parents to lose a child prior to midlife. Child loss and the resulting health risks disproportionately burden black families, functioning as a unique source of disadvantage for black Americans.}, keywords = {child death, mortality risk, race, race-ethnicity, Racial Disparities}, isbn = {2399-5300}, doi = {10.1093/geroni/igz038.1630}, author = {Rachel Donnelly and Debra Umberson and Robert A Hummer and Michael A Garcia} } @mastersthesis {10249, title = {Depressive Symptoms Trajectories Following Child Death in Later Life: Variation by Race-Ethnicity}, volume = {Master of Arts}, year = {2019}, month = {2019}, pages = {87}, school = {Bowling Green State University}, address = {Bowling Green, OH}, abstract = {Child death is among the most traumatic experiences a parent can endure. Prior studies have shown that this event is associated with immediate and protracted detriments to parents\' psychological well-being earlier in the life course. Yet research examining child death experienced in mid-to-late life is scant. Moreover, no study has considered whether and how the death of a child may influence parents\' psychological well-being differently across various racial-ethnic groups. To fill these gaps in the literature, I applied growth curve models to the 1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study to address two research aims. First, I mapped a trajectory of bereaved parents\' depressive symptoms before and after child death and compared it to that of nonbereaved parents among adults aged 50 and older. Second, I compared the depressive symptoms trajectories of bereaved black and Hispanic parents to that of bereaved white parents. On average, both mothers and fathers experienced an immediate elevation in depressive symptoms following child death. It took bereaved mothers about 5 years to recover to depressive symptoms levels comparable to nonbereaved mothers\' but bereaved fathers never fully recovered. Results from the second aim painted a more nuanced picture. Parental bereavement was equally detrimental in the short- and long-term for white, black, and Hispanic mothers, who all recovered in about 4 years, as well as for white and Hispanic fathers, who recovered in 6 years, suggesting child death is an acute stressor. However, black fathers displayed resilience as resistance to the initial detrimental effect of parental bereavement by reporting a surprising reduction in depressive symptoms immediately following child death. Black fathers who experienced child death reported worse well-being relative to white fathers both prior to and after child death, and even after reporting a decrease in depressive symptoms following bereavement, never reverted to nonbereaved levels of depressive symptoms, suggesting that black fathers\' cumulative disadvantages in later life may provide them the coping repertoire necessary to resist the immediate psychological detriments associated with child death. Together, these findings suggest that future research should examine adjustment to bereavement separately by race-ethnicity and gender to unpack any heterogeneity in the short- and long-term outcomes associated with family death. }, keywords = {acute, child death, chronic, cumulative disadvantage, Depressive symptoms, Growth curve modelling, later life, parental bereavement, race-ethnicity, Resilience, trajectory}, url = {http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1563465712524515}, author = {Kagan A Mellencamp} } @article {10456, title = {RACE BY AGE PATTERNS IN KIDNEY FUNCTIONING AMONG OLDER ADULTS: EVIDENCE FROM THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {3}, year = {2019}, pages = {S354-S354}, abstract = {The present study considers how race combines with chronological age to shape kidney function among older adults. We analyzed cross-sectional data from a nationally representative study of older adults. Our measure of kidney function derived from the cystatin C-based estimated glomerular filtration rate. We use a pattern variable to divide White and Black respondents into four groups based on their age group membership: early midlife (age 52{\textendash}59), late midlife (age 60{\textendash}69), young old (age 70{\textendash}79), and oldest old (80s+ years). Results from our ordinary least squares models reveal that Blacks and Whites in late midlife, young old, and oldest old exhibited poorer kidney function than Whites in early midlife. Our study uncovers evidence of race by age disparities in kidney function among older adults. Future longitudinal studies will provide further insight into how and why race combines with age to pattern kidney function over time.}, keywords = {kidney, kidney functioning, race, race-ethnicity}, isbn = {2399-5300}, doi = {10.1093/geroni/igz038.1284}, author = {Ryon J. Cobb} } @article {10442, title = {RACIAL-ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT, AND DEPRESSION ON COGNITIVE TRAJECTORIES}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {3}, year = {2019}, pages = {S652-S652}, abstract = {Purpose of study: This study investigated (1) whether positive affect(PA), negative affect(NA), and depression are related to trajectories of cognitive functioning among older adults, (2) whether PA or NA could moderate the relationship between depression and cognitive trajectories, and (3) whether there are racial/ethnic differences in the relationships among PA, NA, depression and cognitive trajectories. Design and Methods: Growth-curve modeling was conducted using the sample of 10,289 individuals in the U.S. aged 50 or older from the 2006-2014 Health and Retirement Study. Racial/ethnic groups in this study were non-Hispanic Whites (NHW, n=8.009), African Americans (AA, n=1,428), Hispanics (n=611), and others (n=241). Results: After adjusting for covariates, PA showed positive effect, and depression had negative effect on cognitive functioning trajectories (p < .05, z = 8.76, 95\% CI= 0.27, 0.43; p < .05, z = -6.38, 95\% CI= -0.19, -0.10). Racial/ethnic minorities (i.e., AA, Hispanics, others) exhibited lower cognitive functioning over time compared to NHW. PA significantly moderated the effect of depression on cognitive trajectories (p < .05, z = - 8.04, 95\% CI = -0.19, -0.11), and the protective effect of PA against cognitive decline was pronounced for AA (p < .05, z = 2.75, 95\% CI = 0.10, 0.63). Conclusion: Findings suggest that PA may protect against cognitive decline in older adults, providing a buffer against the negative effect of depression or racial/ethnic minority status on cognitive trajectories. Potential intervention strategies are discussed to assist older adults in maintaining and improving PA to promote cognitive health.}, keywords = {Cognition, cognitive trajectories, depression, race, race-ethnicity}, isbn = {2399-5300}, doi = {10.1093/geroni/igz038.2419}, author = {Park, Soohyun and Su Hyun Shin and Rebecca S Allen and Kim, Giyeon} } @article {10450, title = {TRACKING CHANGES IN MULTIMORBIDITY AMONG RACIALLY AND ETHNICALLY DIVERSE POPULATIONS}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {3}, year = {2019}, pages = {S354-S354}, abstract = {Multimorbidity is widely recognized as having adverse effects on health and wellbeing above and beyond the risk attributable to individual chronic disease. Much of what is known about multimorbidity rests on research that has largely focused on one point-in-time, or from a static perspective, with little consideration to issues involved in assessing longitudinal changes in multimorbidity. In addition, less focus has been placed on assessing racial and ethnic variations in longitudinal changes of multimorbidity. Addressing this knowledge gap, we highlight important issues and considerations in addressing multimorbidity research from a longitudinal perspective and present findings from longitudinal models that examine differences in the rate of chronic disease accumulation and multimorbidity onset between non-Hispanic white (white), non-Hispanic black (black), and Hispanic study participants in the Health and Retirement Study starting in middle-age and followed for up to 16 years.}, keywords = {multimorbidity, race-ethnicity, Racial and ethnic differences}, isbn = {2399-5300}, doi = {10.1093/geroni/igz038.1285}, author = {Ana R Qui{\~n}ones and Anda Botoseneanu and Markwardt, Sheila and Corey L Nagel and Jason T Newsom and David A Dorr and Heather G. Allore} } @article {doi:10.1200/jco.2014.32.15_suppl.9542, title = {Multimorbidity and racial disparities in use of hospice by older patients dying from cancer.}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Oncology}, volume = {32}, year = {2014}, pages = {9542-9542}, abstract = {9542 Background: While previous studies have documented lower use of hospice by Non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) than by Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs), racial variations have not been examined in the context of multimorbidity (MM), which affects minority patients disproportionately. We sought to determine the impact of MM severity on NHBs{\textquoteright} use of hospice in a U.S. representative sample of older adults. Methods: We used data from the linked 1991-2008 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), Medicare data, and the National Death Index (NDI). From the NDI, we identified fee-for-service patients >=65 years of age who died from cancer (n=812), and retrieved their demographic data, presence of comorbidities (COM), functional limitations (FL), and geriatric syndromes (GS) from their last HRS interview. We characterized severity of MM by 3 levels: none or only one of COM, FL, or GS (MM0/1); presence of two of COM, FL, or GS (MM2); or presence of all three of COM, FL, and GS (MM3). Hospice use was identified from Medicare claims data. We developed multivariable logistic regression models to analyze the association between race and hospice use, adjusting for MM and other patient covariates. Results: Nearly 12\% of the study population was NHB; 61.3\% of NHBs and 53.0\% of NHWs were identified in MM3 (p=0.057). Overall, 61\% of the patients received hospice care (63.7\% in NHWs, and 43.0\% in NHBs, p < 0.001). The distribution NHBs and NHWs by MM was similar across hospice users and non-users. Adjusting for MM and other confounders, NHBs were significantly less likely than NHWs to utilize hospice (Adjusted odds ratio: 0.42, 95\% Confidence Interval: 0.27-0.66, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Despite the greater representation of NHBs in the highest severity of MM category, NHBs remain significantly less likely than NHWs to use hospice, even after adjusting for MM. The findings carry important implications with regard to disparities in providing optimal, and cost effective quality of end-of-life care.}, keywords = {Cancer, Death, multimorbidity, National Death Index, race, race difference, race-ethnicity}, doi = {10.1200/jco.2014.32.15_suppl.9542}, author = {Siran M Koroukian and Nicholas K Schiltz and Warner, David and Charles W Given and Owusu, Cynthia and Mark Schluchter and Nathan A. Berger} }