RACIAL-DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH-STATUS AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS OF OLDER ADULTS

Background: Little is known about racial differences in health status and health behaviors of older adults, especially among the oldest old. Objectives: To investigate racial differences in health status and he alth behaviors of African American and Caucasian older adults and to i dentify factors that influence health behaviors of older adults. Metho d: A descriptive comparative study using data from the Georgia Centena rian Study was conducted. The subjects were 248 older adults (181 Cauc asians and 67 African Americans) ranging in age from 60 to 107 years. Demographic characteristics, health status, and four health behaviors were assessed. Results: African Americans had significantly lower ment al health (p < .001) and poorer self-perceived health (p < .01) than d id their Caucasian counterparts; however, when covaried with education and income, racial differences in self-perceived health were eliminat ed, and differences in mental health decreased but remained significan t (p < .05). Using univariate analyses, only two health behaviors, phy sical activity and eating breakfast regularly, showed significant raci al differences. Relatively few older adults participated in leisure-ti me physical activity. Logistic regression analyses indicated that race was not significantly related to any health behaviors. Age, gender, a nd physical health status were most frequently related to health behav iors. Conclusion: The findings indicated no robust racial differences in health status and health behaviors, especially when education and i ncome were controlled. More research is recommended to clarify the fac tors that explain health behaviors of older adults.