Individual health status and racial minority concentration in US states and counties

Abstract

Objectives. We examined whether the positive association-between mortality rates and racial minority concentration documented in ecological studies would be found for health status after control for race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and region of residence. Methods. We estimated least squares and probit models using aggregate and individual health status data from the 1995, 1997, and 1999 versions of the Current Population Survey merged with data from the US Bureau of the Census regarding state- and county-level racial minority concentration. Results. Except in the case of older Whites, racial minority concentration was not associated with health status after control for individual characteristics and fixed regional factors. Conclusions. Racial minority concentration may not be a determinant of individual health; differential migration patterns may explain the anomalous result for older Whites.