Black and White: Does Race Matter for Adult Health Outcomes among Hispanic Women of Childbearing Ages?

Juanita Chinn, University of Texas at Austin

The aim of this paper is to understand the implications of race on physical health among Hispanic women of childbearing ages in the United States. We use the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Sample Adult respondents from 1997 to 2009. We restrict these data to females of Hispanic origin, ages 18 to 45. Using logistic regression, we analyze five measures of health: Body Mass Index (BMI), Cardiovascular Disease, Functional Limitations, Hypertension and Self Rated Health. We find that race matters for some health outcomes among Hispanics: functional limitations, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and self rated health. White Hispanics are advantaged in comparison to black and other race Hispanics on some health measures. Additionally, we find evidence of weathering among black and other race Hispanics.