The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #45648

Jennifer D. Parker, PhD, Infant and Child Health Studies Branch, National Center for Health Statistics, 6525 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301 4584419, jdp3@cdc.gov and Jennifer H. Madans, PhD, Office of the Director, National Center for Health Statistics, 6525 Belcrest Road, Rm 1140, Hyattville, MD 20782.

Racial disparities in disease incidence and outcome are common in the epidemiology literature. As epidemiologists study the underlying reasons for these racial disparities, race-specific health statistics are routinely analyzed. Recent changes in federal collections of race data, which now allow for multiple race groups, will make comparisons over time and between data collections less comparable. Census 2000 shows 2.4% of the U.S. population identifies with more than one race group. Although multiple race groups likely include those whose parents report different race groups, the correspondence between interracial births and multiple race reporting is unknown. Parental race distributions from U.S. Natality data from 1968 through 1998 and race distributions from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 1990-1998 were compared, by year of birth. Overall multiple race survey responses correspond to expectations from interracial births, however, there are discrepancies for specific multiple race combinations. More NHIS respondents report that they are American Indian and white than expected from the corresponding birth records; there are fewer NHIS respondents in other multiple race groups than expected. This discordance was observed for all birth cohorts. Thus, the characterization of the multiple race population can only be partially informed by vital records. Appropriate inferences from observed racial disparities have been widely debated in epidemiology; the addition of multiple race groups will inform the discussion but may increase the confusion.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the difference between reporting more than one race and having parents with different races; 2)Understand that this difference varies across multiple race groups; 3) Understand how this difference can affect epidemiologic inferences for multiple race groups

Keywords: Ethnic Identity, Data Collection

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.