The Hispanic Paradox

While living in Los Angeles, especially in South Central, one sees a large number of underprivileged Hispanics compared to other races. In accordance, 26.7% of the U.S Hispanic population lives below the poverty level compared to only 10% of their white counterparts. (U.S. Census Bureau)  A trait common amongst them, especially the older ones, is their lack of fitness and deteriorating health. However, despite their low socioeconomic status, Hispanic people have much lower mortality rates compared to those of African-Americans and Caucasians, as shown below. This epidemiological finding is commonly known as the Hispanic Paradox.

The biggest factor in health is a person’s socioeconomic status. Hispanics face poor educational status, employment, health status, and use of health and social services because they have retained their native language, where about 33% of elder Latinos only speak Spanish. (Hooyman & Kiyak) Those without citizenship face the issue of not being able to apply for Social Security, SSI, Medicare, or Medicaid. These statistics should mean that Hispanics should be particularly vulnerable to chronic illnesses and should have an overall worse health compared to other races. 

One hypothesis for the Hispanic Paradox, known as the “Barrio Advantage” states that living in the same neighborhood as people with similar ethnic backgrounds proves greatly advantageous for one’s health. In a study of elderly Mexican Americans, those living in areas with a higher percentage of Mexican-Americans had lower seven year mortality as well as a decreased prevalence of other medical conditions. (Karl Eschbach). Another hypothesis referred to as the “healthy migrant effect” states that the selection of healthy Hispanic immigrants into the United States is reason for the paradox. International immigration statistics demonstrate that the mortality rate of immigrants is lower than in their country of origin. In the United States, foreign-born individuals have better self-reported health than American-born respondents. 

Nonetheless a long-term solution for the poverty situation of this particular race needs to be formulated so that a positive impact can be made on the health and socioeconomic status as Hispanics age.

References:

Eschbach, Karl. "Neighborhood Context and Mortality Among Older Mexican Americans: Is There a Barrio Advantage?". American Journal of Public Health.

Abraido-Lanza, A., Dohrenwend, B. P., & Ng-Mak, D. (1999). “The latino mortality paradox: A test of the ‘salmon bias’ and healthy migrant hypotheses”. American Journal of Public Health.

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/index.html

Hooyman & Kiyak (.pdf)