Racial disparities in aging persist
By American staff
As Saint Louis University launches its new Center for Aging Successfully, African-American medical experts on aging and caring for the elderly hope that the center addresses persistent racial disparities in aging and wellness.
“The number of elderly African Americans is expected to double in the next 15 years. Hopefully, the new center will help address some of the disparities related to aging African Americans,” said Consuelo Wilkins, M.D., the American’s health editor and a practicing gerontologist.
“Since the turn of the century, the life expectancy for all races of Americans has increased, except for African Americans. The life expectancy of African-American men born during or after 1997 is 66 years compared to 74 years for Caucasian men, and African-American women is 74 years compared to 80 years for Caucasian women.”
The Center for Aging Successfully is part of a $1 million SLU initiative designed to strengthen areas where the university has national recognition. For the last 10 years, U.S. News & World Report has consistently recognized Saint Louis University’s geriatrics programs as one of the best in the country.
Susan Tebb, Ph.D., director of the School of Social Work and co-principal investigator of the Center for Aging Successfully, sees the designation as formal recognition of SLU’s track record in gerontology studies.
“Our educators who are interested in aging issues from both sides of campus have been meeting informally for the last 30 years. I’m delighted the university recognizes this is a need and they’re allowing us to fulfill it,” Tebb said.
John Morley, M.D., director of geriatric medicine at SLU and co-principal investigator of the new Center for Aging Successfully, said, “This center gives SLU the opportunity to take the lead during the next century in developing the knowledge to provide the best possible care for the aged.”
Nina Tumosa, Ph.D., professor of geriatrics and center co-principal investigator, said the center will make it easier for faculty who work on aging issues to collaborate. “We work as a team because we all bring critical components to the program,” Tumosa said. “Whatever we do with research and education, we want to translate to better patient care.”
Faculty from the School of Medicine, Doisy College of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, College of Public Service, Graduate School and College of Arts and Sciences are part of the new center. A dedicated grant writer will pursue funding opportunities to expand geriatrics research and education.
In addition, the Center for Aging Successfully will provide education on multiple levels – from the lay public through community programs to university students at all degree levels to health care providers working in local hospitals and community health centers.
Tebb said she hopes the new center will encourage students to consider working with the elderly as they plan their career paths.
“We’re seeing a little increase in interest in working with the aged. The need is tremendous, and it’s growing,” she said.
Tebb, Morley, Tumosa and their colleagues and students will have plenty to study about health disparities and the aging process.
African Americans continue to have a lower life expectancy than any other race. African Americans’ life expectancy is 70.2 years compared to an average of 76.5 years for all population groups. For African-American men, the average life expectancy is 66.1 years compared to the national average of 73.6 years for all men.
A SLU press release about the center listed a number of topics of potential study – “exercise and falls; Alzheimer’s disease; illness in certain population groups; hormones, nutrition; social problems; and emergency preparedness” – that did not directly reference racial disparities in health and aging.