• Grant H Louie and Michael M Ward.
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services,Bethesda, MD, USA. glouie2@jhmi.edu
• Am J Public Health. 2011 Jul 1; 101 (7): 1322-9.

ObjectivesWe investigated whether a greater burden of disease among poorer individuals and ethnic minorities accounted for socioeconomic and racial disparities in self-reported physical functioning among older adults.MethodsWe used data from adults aged 60 years or older (n = 5556) in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994 to test associations between education level, poverty index, and race/ethnicity and limitations in 11 functions. We adjusted for demographic features and measures of disease burden (comorbid conditions, smoking, hemoglobin level, serum albumin level, knee pain, body mass index, and skeletal muscle index).ResultsAssociations between education and functional limitations were attenuated after adjustment, but those with 0-8 years of education were more likely than those with 13 or more years of education to have limitations in 3 functions. Poverty was associated with a higher likelihood of limitations despite adjustment. The likelihood of limitations among non-Hispanic Blacks and Mexican Americans was similar to that of non-Hispanic Whites after adjustment.ConclusionsSocioeconomic disparities in functional limitations among older Americans exist independent of disease burden, whereas socioeconomic differences and disease burden account for racial disparities.

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