Race/Ethnic Differences in the Association of Education and Mortality

Jennifer Brite , City University of New York (CUNY)
Jennifer B. Dowd, King's College London
Anna Zajacova, University of Western Ontario

Background: While the education-mortality gradient is well established among US adults, less is known about how it varies by race/ethnicity especially for understudied races such as Asians and Native Americans. Proposed Methods: Data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS). Survival models for adults age 25 and older (n=725,373) with race by educational interaction terms are used to test multiplicative interaction; additional procedures test for additive interaction. Preliminary Results: Educational gradients in mortality do not differ significantly across race/ethnic groups on the multiplicative scale. However, preliminary analyses suggest that additive interactions may be significant for at least some race/ethnic groups and at least some education levels. Preliminary Conclusion: Previous mortality studies that have explored the joint effects of demographic factors have assessed interaction solely on the multiplicative scale. We will discuss the importance of both interaction perspectives in terms of methodology and especially in terms of substantive interpretations and policy relevance.

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 Presented in Session 52. Flash Session: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Health