Objective: To test the relationship between racial segregation and mortality using a multidimensional questionnaire-based measure of exposure to segregation.
Data sources: Data for this analysis come from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), a national multistage probability sample of 2,107 African Americans (aged 18-101). The NSBA was conducted as a household survey. The NSBA was matched with the National Death Index (NDI).
Study design: Prospective cohort study, where Cox regression analysis was used to examine the effect of baseline variables on time to death over a 13-year period.
Principal findings: Respondents who were exposed to racial segregation were significantly less likely to survive the study period after controls for age, health status, and other predictors of mortality.
Conclusion: The results support previous studies linking segregation with health outcomes.