Does longer life mean better health? Not for native-born mexican americans in the health and retirement survey

Abstract

Race/ethnic differences in mortality constitute a fundamental form of inequality in the United States. Black Americans live fewer years than whites, and the disadvantage for blacks in chances for long life is a long-term historical pattern. National mortality estimates for Hispanics show that longevity of individuals in this group is equivalent to and sometimes exceeds those for whites, despite Hispanics' stark socioeconomic disadvantages (National Center for Health Statistics 2001). Trend data for Hispanics spanning several decades are not available. © 2007 Springer.