The association between skin color/race and health indicators in elderly Brazilians

A study based on the Brazilian National Household Sample Survey (2008)

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5223080
AutoresBruno Luciano Carneiro Alves De Oliveira (0000-0001-8053-7972, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Brasil; Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Cururupu, Brasil), Erika Bárbara Abreu Fonseca Thomaz (0000-0003-4156-4067, Universidade Federal do Maranhão), Raimundo Antonio Da Silva (Universidade Federal do Maranhão)
Año2014
Volumen30
Número7
Páginas1438-1452
Fecha de publicación2014-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCadernos de Saude Publica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0102-311X • E-ISSN: 1678-4464
EditorialFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/0102-311x00071413
PMID25166941
OpenAlexW2028467159
SCIELO_PIDS0102-311X2014000701438
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas36

This study analyzed racial inequalities in health in 18,684 elderly Brazilians 65 years or older, interviewed in the National Household Sample Survey in 2008 (PNAD 2008), and who reported their color/race as white, brown, or black. Associations were estimated between self-rated health status, functional incapacity, and number of chronic conditions according to crude and adjusted regression analyses (α = 0.01). The majority of the elderly were white (56.2%). In the adjusted analysis, brown color/races was associated with worse self-rated health status (OR = 1.11; 95%CI: 1.03-1.18) and black color/race was associated with more chronic diseases (PR = 1.07; 95%CI: 1.02-1.13). Brown color/race appeared as a protective factor against functional incapacity. When brown and black elderly were combined in one category ("black"), "black" elderly continued to show worse self-rated health status (OR = 1.09; 95%CI: 1.02-1.16) and lower odds of functional incapacity (OR = 0.83; 95%CI: 0.76-0.92). "Black" color/race lost the association with number of chronic diseases. Color/race explained part of the health inequalities in elderly Brazilians, but other socioeconomic variables had a more striking effect

Cross-sectional study · Health equity · National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey · National Health Interview Survey · Odds ratio · Population · Public health · Race (biology) · Skin color · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Skin Protection and Aging · Gerontology