Literature and Statistical Review of Race/Hispanic Origin and Mortality

Abstract

General population statistical reports as well as the scientific literature converge on the fact that African-Americans experience poorer mortality outcomes relative to whites. While between-race life expectancy disparities have diminished over time, they persist. Likewise, in studies of professional baseball players, mortality risk among African-Americans has been shown to be elevated relative to whites. Mortality studies among professional athletes that include Hispanics are absent from the scientific literature. US general population mortality statistics for Hispanic residents only became available in the mid-1980s and has produced intriguing findings. Hispanics, like whites, consistently have significantly better mortality outcomes relative to African-Americans. Surprisingly, the literature indicates that Hispanics residing in the US often have equivalent or more favorable mortality rates compared to whites, despite being disadvantaged, when it comes to socioeconomic status (SES). This “Hispanic Paradox ” has been challenged by some in the scientific community based on an alternative hypothesis, known as the “salmon bias” that explains the paradox primarily based on out-migration among elderly Hispanics. Currently, it is unknown whether the Hispanic Paradox (or the salmon bias) applies to professional athletes, like Major League Baseball players.