ABSTRACT
Racial/ethnic minor it ies in the United States gener ally exper i ence dispro por tion ate burdens of illness and disease. Like non-Hispanic (NH) Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos exper i ence a range of psychoso cial and phys ical health dispar it ies, includ ing lower income and educa tion, high rates of obesity and high rates of chronic diseases. Yet surpris ingly, Latinos (includ ing Mexican Americans) exper i ence lower incid ence of several leading causes of death, as well as lower allcause mortal ity relat ive to NH Whites; this phenomenon is commonly referred to as the Hispanic/Latino mortal ity paradox. This chapter will review the avail able evid ence concern ing disease rates and health outcomes, while also present ing a discus sion of cultural path ways which may moder ate and mediate the observed fi nd ings.
