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ID 111561
Author
Tucker, Katherine L Tufts University
Keywords
health disparities
stress
nutrition
vitamins
Hispanic
allostatic load
Content Type
Journal Article
Description
Although health disparities are well documented among minority populations, they have not been fully explained by socio-economic status. We have demonstrated that Puerto Rican elders in Massachusetts are significantly more likely to have physical disability, depression, cognitive impairment, diabetes and other chronic health conditions than do non-Hispanic white elders living in the same neighborhoods. This suggests that the disparity is not due only to physical or neighborhood location, and that other factors must be influencing these differences. In that study, we also showed that the Puerto Rican elders had diets that were limited in diversity and were relatively low in micronutrient content. In our ongoing cohort study within our Boston Puerto Rican Center for Population Health and Health Disparities, we are investigating the relationships between psychosocial stress, its effect on physiologic burden or “allostatic load” and, in turn, how this is associated with the functional outcomes previously identified as areas of health disparity:depression, cognitive impairment and functional limitation. We further propose that the association between life stress, physiologic response and chronic conditions is modified by nutritional status, with a focus on B vitamins and antioxidant vitamins.
Journal Title
The Journal of Medical Investigation
ISSN
13496867
13431420
NCID
AA11166929
AA12022913
Publisher
Faculty of Medicine Tokushima University
Volume
52
Issue
Supplement
Start Page
252
End Page
258
Sort Key
252
Published Date
2005-11
DOI (Published Version)
URL ( Publisher's Version )
FullText File
language
eng
TextVersion
Publisher