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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2007.114397v1 98/7/1241    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Barnes, L. L. Articles by Evans, D. A. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Barnes, L. L. Articles by Evans, D. A. Related Collections Aging Epidemiology African Americans/Blacks Urban Health

Lisa L. Barnes, PhD, Carlos F. Mendes de Leon, PhD, Tené T. Lewis, PhD, Julia L. Bienias, ScD, Robert S. Wilson, PhD and Denis A. Evans, MD

Lisa L. Barnes and Robert S. Wilson are with the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Departments of Neurological Sciences and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Carlos F. Mendes de Leon, Julia L. Bienias, and Denis A. Evans are with the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging and the Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. At the time the research was completed, Tené T. Lewis was in the Department of Preventive Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.

Correspondence: Request for reprints should be sent to Lisa L. Barnes, PhD, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 S. Paulina, Suite 1038, Chicago, IL 60612 (e-mail: lbarnes1{at}rush.edu).

Objectives. We examined the relation of individual-level perceived discrimination to mortality in a biracial, population-based sample.

Methods. Participants were 4154 older adults from the Chicago Health and Aging Project who underwent up to 2 interviews over 4.5 years. Perceived discrimination was measured at baseline, and vital status was obtained at each follow-up and verified through the National Death Index.

Results. During follow-up, 1166 deaths occurred. Participants reporting more perceived discrimination had a higher relative risk of death (hazard ratio [HR]= 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.01, 1.09). This association was independent of differences in negative affect or chronic illness and appeared to be stronger among Whites than among Blacks (Whites: HR=1.12; 95% CI=1.04, 1.20; Blacks: HR=1.03; 95% CI=0.99, 1.07). Secondary analyses revealed that the relation to mortality was related to discriminatory experiences of a more demeaning nature and that racial differences were no longer significant when the sample was restricted to respondents interviewed by someone of the same race.

Conclusions. Perceived discrimination was associated with increased mortality risk in a general population of older adults. The results suggest that subjective experience of interpersonal mistreatment is toxic in old age. This study adds to a growing literature documenting discrimination as an important social determinant of health.