The Hispanic Mortality Advantage

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides the definitive data suggesting that the Hispanic population in the United States has a higher life expectancy at birth and at almost every subsequent age than the non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black populations. As stated in the report:

The finding of higher life expectancy for the Hispanic population seems paradoxical because on average the Hispanic population has lower socioeconomic status than the non-Hispanic white population. Given the relationship between socioeconomic status and mortality, a mortality profile similar to that of the non-Hispanic black population would seem more likely for the Hispanic population.

The study authors suggest that this apparent longevity paradox has three potential explanations: data artifact, migration effects and cultural effects. They seem comfortable that the effect of data artifact has been addressed methodologically, and seem to suggest that the migration effect (i.e., healthier individuals migrate into the country and sicker individuals return home to die) has as yet no firm basis in evidence. That leaves the potential impact of culture as perhaps a key explanation:

Finally, cultural effects in the form of family structure, lifestyle behaviors, and social networks may also explain the Hispanic mortality advantage by conferring a protective barrier against the vicissitudes of minority status and low socioeconomic conditions.

Clearly, the statisticians have done their job in confirming a significant difference in life expectancy based upon Hispanic ethnicity. The ball is now firmly in the court of public health professionals, cultural anthropologists, sociologists, and others to identify and measure the impact of the protective factors involved within the Hispanic community. (This work should be conducted among Asian Americans as well, who also benefit from relatively long life expectancy.) A better understanding of factors outside of socioeconomic status that lead to longer life can potentially serve as a basis to intervene in the premature death that impacts other racial/ethnic groups, notably African Americans and Native Americans, both of whom suffer from shorter life expectancies than the majority population.

Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director