Young, R: African-American Longevity Advantage: Myth Or Real

Demographic researchers have identified a crossover pattern between the mortality rates of the Caucasian- American and African-American oldest-old (80+) populations for over a century. Debate has centered on whether the crossover effect is due to age misreporting or the heterogeneity hypothesis or if it continues beyond age 99. This thesis addresses these issues by using new data from the United States Social Security Administration‘s study of supercentenarians (persons 110 or older), which began in the year 2000. The study identified 355 persons aged 110 or older whose ages could be verified, creating the first reliable American dataset for this population group. The author of this book, Robert Young, was involved in the study as a case researcher and therefore had access to the data. Analyzing the data, Young attempts to determine whether this phenomenon is due to fact or fiction. By first analyzing the history of longevity mythmaking and race, including the African-American myth of longevity, the author provides a contextual background in which to view the results. Young then turns to the suprising findings and discusses their possible causes.