. "1 The Nature of Racial and Ethnic Differences." Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life: A Research Agenda. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2004.
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Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life: A Research Agenda
TABLE 1-3 People 65 Years and Older with a Particular Disease or Condition
Males
Females
Selected Diseases and Conditions
Total
Whites
Blacks
Hispanics
Total
Whites
Blacks
Hispanics
Circulatory Diseases
Heart disease, total
35.9
37.6
27.9
22.9
29.2
29.9
29.0
20.4
Coronary heart disease
26.4
27.9
19.3
17.9
17.6
18.0
17.6
14.2
Hypertension
41.6
41.0
52.7
32.6
49.6
47.7
67.6
47.9
Stroke
9.7
9.6
13.1
5.8
7.2
7.1
8.4
9.6
Respiratory Diseases
Chronic emphysema
6.8
7.1
5.9
4.2
3.8
4.1
2.2
1.3
Asthma
6.3
6.1
7.4
6.9
8.9
8.7
10.5
8.9
Hay fever
5.8
6.1
5.1
2.5
8.1
8.1
8.5
6.6
Sinusitis
11.8
12.4
9.8
9.1
18.2
18.4
20.2
14.6
Bronchitis
4.5
4.7
3.7
3.6
7.6
8.2
4.6
5.4
Types of Cancer
Any cancer
18.6
20.1
13.0
9.6
17.3
19.0
9.3
7.8
Breast cancer
0.2
0.3
n/a
n/a
6.5
6.9
4.7
2.3
Cervical cancer
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1.0
1.1
0.8
0.7
Prostate cancer
6.4
6.7
6.4
5.1
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Other Diseases and Conditions
Diabetes
13.3
12.1
17.6
19.4
13.6
11.9
26.0
21.2
Ulcers
15.6
15.6
13.9
14.7
12.3
12.3
11.9
11.4
Kidney disease
3.4
3.3
3.8
3.3
3.2
2.9
4.6
1.7
Liver disease
1.1
1.2
0.3
2.2
1.4
1.4
2.4
0.2
Arthritic symptoms
31.8
32.1
32.4
28.3
40.8
40.7
41.9
44.5
n/a, Not applicable or no data.
NOTE: Data are for people who have been told by a doctor or other health professional that they have the disease or condition.
SOURCE: 1998 National Health Interview Survey (Pleis and Coles, 2002).
frequently by women than men. Blacks also report a previous stroke more often than whites, but black males are less likely than whites to report heart disease. This is somewhat inconsistent and it should be noted that these are self-reports, and anyone who died from these diseases (or from any other cause) is not in the comparison. Blacks report a previous diagnosis of any cancer much less often than whites, including reports of breast cancer among women. Blacks report substantially more frequent diagnoses of diabetes.
These comparisons are consistent with other data in which blacks do
