Catherine García
Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science, Syracuse University
Background: The aging Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. is a rapidly growing and diverse group facing unique health challenges. As the fastest-growing segment of older adults, Hispanics/Latinos are projected to represent 20.4% of the population aged 65 and older by 2060. Despite longer lifespans, this population often experiences a substantial portion of later life in an unhealthy state, raising critical questions about disease processes, risk factors, and social determinants of health. This research aims to address gaps in knowledge concerning the life course determinants of health in aging U.S. Hispanics/Latinos, focusing on midlife and later life health disparities. Leveraging innovative empirical methods and drawing on the intersectionality of factors such as ethnic origin, racial identity, nativity status, language use, birth cohort, and gender, the study employs the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to document life history domains and their association with physiological functioning.
Aim 1: Document patterns of life history domains, including educational experiences, childhood
family context and health, geographical and residence context, employment history, and health in early-life (from birth to 18 years of age), early adulthood (from 19-39), midlife (from 40 to 64 years of age), and later life (65 years of age and older).
Aim 2: Assess the associations between early-life and early adulthood geographical and
residential histories, education histories, work histories, and health on trajectories of physiological functioning and chronic conditions.