Race, Ethnicity, and Disability in Older Americans

Abstract
This paper will discuss the topic of Race/Ethnicity and Disability among Older Americans. The definition of disability and trends will be described as well as the difference between a functional limitation and disability. The effects of disability, measured by the social and economic costs, greatly influence health and retirement in later life. As the composition of older adults in our population changes, trends in the disability status of the elderly are changing as well.

Race/Ethnicity and Disability among Older Americans
Disability is the condition of being disabled and the inability to pursue an occupation because of a physical or mental impairment. A national health and nutrition examination survey showed that with the exception

However, these measures often do not clearly differentiate between functional limitations and daily performance of an activity. Functional limitations are restrictions in performing fundamental physical and mental actions used in daily life such as mobility (physical) or memory (mental). Disability is difficulty experienced doing activities of daily living in any domain of life due to a health or physical problem. The role of early life factors that may have direct and indirect effects on disability will be discussed next. From the time of birth Differences in health across economic groups are apparent at birth: newborns from less-well-off families or with less-well-educated mothers have higher rates of mortality and lower birth weights than more-advantaged newborns (Yu, S. (2012). The association between health and wealth becomes more evident until early old age but then eventually drops, perhaps the result of selective mortality. The behavioral aspects of young children’s often show that there is little willingness to play with peers with disabilities and there are less acceptance and interaction with incapacitated