Living in a New York City Neighborhood Where Your Race/Ethnicity Is the Majority Often Lowers Mortality

NEW YORK CITY, June 19??? Whites, older African-Americans, and young Latinos in New York City residing in areas where they belong to the majority race/ethnic group live longer than their peers in racially diverse neighborhoods, according to a new study in the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of The New York Academy of Medicine. This suggests that social support, information sharing, and protection from rejection, prejudice, and alienation may lead to reduced mortality among all races/ethnicities.

This study does not discount the adverse health effects of segregation, with its attendant issues of economic disinvestment and concentrated poverty. But it does indicate that there are benefits of homogeneity within racially and ethically segregated communities.

???Neighborhood social factors, independent of the socioeconomic environment, most likely contribute to health and longevity,??? said lead author, Sanae Inagami, MD, MPH, a researcher with the Rand Corporation. ???If we can apply these factors to all neighborhoods, we may be able to effect an overall reduction in mortality rates among all races/ethnicities. These changes may be just as important in reducing mortality rate disparities as biomedical discoveries and interventions.???

In conducting this study, entitled ???Residential Segregation and Latino, Black and White Mortality in New York City,??? researchers examined mortality statistics for 1999-2000 gathered from the New York City Department of Health and the Year 2000 U.S. Census data. They identified zip code areas where the white, African American, or Latino population exceeded greater than 70 percent of the total population, defining those areas as predominantly white, African American, or Latino. In comparing the mortality rates and socio-demographic characteristics amongst the different race/ethnic groups within zip code areas, they discovered the following:

??? Whites living in predominantly white areas had lower all-cause mortality rates than whites living in predominantly African American or Latino areas. Similarly, African Americans living in predominantly African American areas also had significantly lower mortality rates than African Americans living in predominantly white or Latino areas. This held true for young Latinos, as well.

??? Living in a predominantly white zip code was associated with higher mortality rates for older Latino men and older African Americans of both genders despite living in zip code areas where their socioeconomic status was better than those living in predominantly Latino or African American areas. This suggests that there may be limits to the benefits of living in an affluent area and/or even greater psychosocial stress arising from perceived inequities that adversely affect health.

??? Except for Latino women over the age of 65, Latinos experienced lower mortality in predominantly white areas and higher mortality in predominantly African American areas as compared to Latinos living in predominantly Latino areas. Latino males living in predominantly African American areas had significantly higher mortality rates than Latinos living in Latino areas.

??? African Americans, with a mortality rate twice that of whites in New York City, had the highest death rates and Latinos had the lowest in New York City, regardless of gender.

The Journal of Urban Health is a bi-monthly publication of the Academy and is edited by David Vlahov, PhD, Director of the Academy???s Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies. Founded in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. The Academy is a leading center for urban health policy and action working to enhance the health of people living in cities worldwide through research, education, advocacy, and prevention. Visit us online at www.nyam.org.

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-by A'Dora Phillips

Posted on June 19, 2006

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