TY  - JOUR
AU  - Reyes-Ortiz, Carlos A.
AU  - Lee, Torhonda
AU  - Campo-Arias, Adalberto
AU  - Ocampo-Chaparro, Jose Mauricio
AU  - Luque, John S.
PY  - 2023
TI  - Racial Discrimination and Multimorbidity Among Older Adults in Colombia: A National Data Analysis
T2  - Preventing Chronic Disease
JO  - Prev Chronic Dis
SP  - E34
VL  - 20
CY  - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
N2  - INTRODUCTION  Multimorbidity is a prevalent worldwide problem among older adults. Our objective was to assess the association between life-course racial discrimination and multimorbidity among older adults in Colombia. METHODS  We used data from the SABE (Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento) Colombia Study in 2015 (N = 18,873), a national cross-sectional survey among adults aged 60 years or older. The outcome was multimorbidity, defined as having 2 or more chronic conditions. The main independent variables were 3 racial discrimination measures: 1) everyday racial discrimination (yes or no), 2) childhood racial discrimination score (scored from 0 [never] to 3 [many times]), and 3) situations of racial discrimination in the last 5 years (scored from 0 to 4 as a sum of the number of situations [group activities, public places, inside the family, health centers]). Other variables were sociodemographic characteristics, diseases, economic or health adversity during childhood, and functional status. We used weighted logistic regression analyses to adjust for differences between groups. RESULTS  Multivariate logistic regression models showed that multimorbidity was significantly associated with experiencing everyday racial discrimination (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.62-3.02), childhood racial discrimination (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.10-1.47), and the number of situations of racial discrimination (OR= 1.56; 95% CI, 1.22-2.00). Multimorbidity was also independently associated with multimorbidity during childhood. CONCLUSION  Racial discrimination experiences were associated with higher odds of multimorbidity among older adults in Colombia. Strategies to decrease life course experiences of racial discrimination may improve the health of older adults.
SN  - 1545-1151
UR  - https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd20.220360
DO  - 10.5888/pcd20.220360
ER  -