Urban Neighborhood Context and Mortality in Late Life

Abstract

To examine the contextual effects of urban neighborhood characteristics on mortality among older adults. Data are from the Study of Assets and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD). Death is assessed between the baseline assessment (1993) and the first follow-up interview (1995). Neighborhood data are from the 1990 Census. The log odds of dying between the two time points are higher in high proportion Hispanic neighborhoods, net of individual-level sociodemographic variables, but this effect is partly mediated by individual-level health. The log odds of dying are significantly (p < .05) lower in affluent neighborhoods, controlling for all individual-level variables and neighborhood proportion Hispanic. There are survival-related benefits of living in an affluent urban neighborhood, which we posit may be manifested through the diffusion of innovations in health care and health-promotion activities.