Facts and Figures:  Statistics on Minority Aging in the U.S.

Most of these data tables and information are adapted from Older Americans 2000: Key Indicators of Well-Being, Appendix A: Detailed Tables. (See: http://www.agingstats.gov.) Data are  from a variety of sources with differing sample sizes and designs.  Therefore, all tables do not include data for all minority groups. The last table, Minority Participation in Older Americans Act Programs, provides data collected from State Units on Aging about persons served with Older Americans Act funds.

• Introduction
• Population and Projected Population by Race and Hispanic Origin
• Educational Level
• Living Arrangements
• Poverty
• Net Worth
• Life Expectancy
• Leading Causes of Death
• Self – Rated Health Status
• Mammography
• Access to Medicare
• Vaccinations
• Minority Participation in Older Americans Act Programs

Introduction

Nearly 35 million Americans are age 65 and over. Three in five people in this age group are women. Over the next forty years, the number of people age 65 and older is expected to double and the number of people age 85 and older is expected to triple. Along with general trends for America’s population, minority populations are living longer, getting older, and becoming more racially diverse. In fact, the percentage of older persons, who now comprise over 16 percent of the older population, is expected to grow to 22 percent by 2020. Therefore, the need for data and information on minority elders continues to grow.

The Demographics section provides a broad overview of minority elders, including trends and data on housing, educational level, living arrangements, poverty, life expectancy, leading causes of death, and immunization rates. Where available, information is provided on the trends and differences between men and women, and between the various age cohorts of minority elders. Nonetheless, the population of minority elders is very diverse. Differences exist between and within minority populations of elders when compared with one another. AoA plans to provide information on the heterogeneous populations of minority elders in this section in the near future.

(Note: First table is from the Census 2000; second and third tables are from Census projections and estimates.  Figures for 2000 differ slightly.)

In 2000, an estimated 84 percent of people age 65 or older are non-Hispanic white, 8 percent are non-Hispanic black, 2 percent are non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander, and less than 1 percent are non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native. Hispanic persons are estimated to make up 6 percent of the older population. By 2050, the percentage of the older population that is non-Hispanic white is expected to decline from 84 percent to 64 percent. Hispanic persons are projected to account for 16 percent of the older population; 12 percent of the population is projected to be non-Hispanic black; and 7 percent of the population is projected to be non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander.

Although the older populations will increase among all racial and ethnic groups, the Hispanic older population is projected to grow the fastest, from about 2 million in 2000 to over 13 million by 2050. In fact, by 2028, the Hispanic population age 65 and older is projected to outnumber the non-Hispanic black population in that age group.

Educational Level

Despite the overall increase in educational attainment among older Americans, there are still substantial educational differences among racial and ethnic groups. In 1998, about 72 percent of the non-Hispanic white population age 65 and older had finished high school, compared with 65 percent of the non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander older population, 44 percent of the non-Hispanic black older population, and 29 percent of the Hispanic older population.

In 1998, 16 percent of non-Hispanic white older Americans had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 22 percent of older non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islanders.

Living Arrangements

In 1998, 73 percent of older men lived with their spouses, 7 percent lived with other relatives, 3 percent lived with non-relatives, and 17 percent lived alone.

Older women are more likely to live alone than are older men. In 1998, older women were as likely to live with a spouse as they were to live alone, about 41 percent each. Approximately 17 percent of older women lived with other relatives and 2 percent lived with non-relatives.

Living Arrangements among older women also vary by race and Hispanic origin.  In 1998, about 41 percent of older white and older black women living alone, compared with 27 percent of older Hispanic women and 21 percent of older Asian and Pacific Islander women.  While 15 percent of older white women lived with relatives, approximately one third of older black, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Hispanic women living with other relatives.

Poverty

Among older Americans, the poverty rate is higher at older ages. In 1998, poverty rates were 9 percent for persons ages 65 to 74, 12 percent for persons ages 75 to 84, and 14 percent for persons age 85 or older.

Among the older population, poverty rates are higher among women (13 percent) than among men (7 percent), among the non-married (17 percent) compared with the married (5 percent), and among minorities compared with non-Hispanic white persons. In 1998, divorced black women ages 65 to 74 had a poverty rate of 47 percent, one of the highest rates for any subgroup of older Americans.

Net Worth

There is a large disparity in net worth between black and white households headed by older Americans. In 1999, median net worth among older black households was estimated to be about $13,000, compared with $181,000 among older white households.

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy varies by race, but the difference decreases with age. In 1997, life expectancy at birth was 6 years higher for white persons than for black persons. At age 65, white persons can expect to live an average of 2 years longer than black persons do. Among those who survive to age 85, however, the life expectancy among black persons is slightly higher than among white persons. The declining race differences in life expectancy at older ages are a subject of debate.  Some research shows that age mis-reporting may have artificially increased life expectancy for black persons, particularly when birth certificates were not available.  Other research, however, suggests that black persons who survive to the oldest ages may be healthier than white persons and have lower mortality rates.

Leading Cause of Death, at 65 + and at 85 +

In 1997, the leading cause of death among persons age 65 or older was heart disease (1,832 deaths per 100,000 persons), followed by cancer (1,133 per 100,000), stroke (426 per 100,000), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (281 per 100,000), pneumonia and influenza (237 per 100,000), and diabetes (141 per 100,000). Among persons age 85 or older, heart disease was responsible for 40 percent of all deaths.  In 1997, death rates were higher for older men than for older women at every age except the very oldest, persons age 95 or older, for whom men’s and women’s rates were nearly equal.

The relative importance of certain causes of death varied according to sex and race and Hispanic origin. For example, in 1997, diabetes was the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native men and women age 65 or older, the fourth leading cause of death among older Hispanic men and women, and ranked sixth among older white men and women and older Asian and Pacific Islander men.  Alzheimer’s disease was the sixth leading cause of death among white women age 85 or older; however, it was less common among black women in the same age group or men of either race.

Self – Rated Health Status

During the period 1994 to 1996, 72 percent of older Americans reported their health as good, very good, or excellent.  Women and men reported comparable levels of health status.  Positive health evaluations decline with age. Among non-Hispanic white men ages 65 to 74, 76 percent reported good to excellent health, compared with 67 percent among non-Hispanic white men age 85 or older. A similar decline with age was reported by non-Hispanic black and Hispanic older men, and by women, with the exception of non-Hispanic black women.

Among older men and women in every age group, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic persons were less likely to report good health than non-Hispanic white persons.

Mammography

Among women age 65 or older, the percentage who had a mammogram within the preceding two years increased from 23 percent in 1987 to 55 percent in 1994.

The percentage of women who had a mammogram increased among all racial and ethnic groups. Until recently, non-Hispanic white women were the most likely to report having had a mammogram, but in 1994 non-Hispanic black women were more likely to report having had a mammogram (61 percent) than either non-Hispanic white women (55 percent) or Hispanic women (48 percent).

Access to Medicare

In 1996, about 7 percent of persons ages 65 to 74 reported delays in obtaining health care due to cost, compared with 5 percent of persons ages 75 to 84, and 3 percent of persons age 85 or older.  Access to health care varied by race. In 1996, the percentage of older Americans who reported delays due to cost was highest among non-Hispanic black persons (10 percent), followed by Hispanic persons (7 percent), and non-Hispanic white persons (5 percent). About 2 percent of non-Hispanic white persons reported difficulty in obtaining health care, compared with 4 percent of non-Hispanic black persons and 3 percent of Hispanic persons.

Vaccinations

Healthy People 2000, a national effort to improve health through establishing health objectives and measuring progress, set targets of 60 percent coverage for both influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations among older Americans. The costs associated with these vaccinations are covered under Medicare Part B for Medicare beneficiaries.

Between 1989 and 1995, the percentage of non-Hispanic white persons who were vaccinated against influenza increased from 32 percent to 60 percent. Over the same period, influenza vaccination rates increased from 18 percent to 40 percent among older non-Hispanic black persons and from 24 percent to 50 percent among older Hispanic persons.

Vaccination rates also increased for pneumococcal disease, but none of the racial or ethnic groups have reached the 60 percent target.  During the period 1993 to 1995, the level of vaccination for both influenza and pneumococcal disease was similar among older women and men. Persons ages 75 to 84 had slightly higher levels of vaccination coverage than persons ages 65 to 74 and persons age 85 or older.

In 1997, network on aging provided services to a total of 6,891,419 persons age 60 and older. Consistent with the targeting requirements of the OAA, the network placed considerable emphasis on services to persons with the greatest social and economic need, including members of racial and ethnic minority groups, especially those who are poor. Among the OAA Title III service recipients, 21.8 percent were members of racial and ethnic minority groups.

Nearly half of the minority clients were African American, more than one-third were of Hispanic origin, 6 percent were American Indian or Alaskan Native and approximately 10 percent were Asian American or Pacific Islander. Within this minority group cohort, nearly 60 percent were poor, poverty rate over two and one-half times higher than the minority elderly population overall.

Special Note about the Net Worth Data on Assets of Black Persons 65+ in 1999:

In response to a number of users who have inquired about this figure, the following information is provided by National Institute on Aging, who supplied this data:  This figure was collected by the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). PSID is an ongoing study (since 1968) conducted by the University of Michigan. NIA staff consulted with the PSID study staff about this issue when the data was originally received and have the following the comments:

• The data is real (not a typo).
• Because the sample size here is fairly small, the fluctuations between different survey years may be somewhat greater than would be expected.
• The decline in net worth may be somewhat due to the increased numbers of Black persons 75+ in the 65+ Black population (presumably the 75+ persons have fewer assets).
• The PSID study staff are convinced that there was indeed a significant decline in the net worth of Blacks 65+ during this time frame.

The study staff also note that additional information on this issue is available at: http://www.isr.umich.edu/src/psid/FiveYearsOlder.pdf

There (Figure 2 and Appendix A), one can also see that the decrease in the wealth holdings of African-Americans, 1994-1999, was much more general.

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