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Article Open Access January 23, 2025

Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023

Shervin Assari 1, 2, 3,* and Hossein Zare 4, 5
1
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2
Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA;
3
Marginalized-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Research Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
4
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
5
School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), Adelphi, MD, USA
Publihed in: Current Research in Public Health (Volume 5, Issue 1, 2025)
Page(s): 1-12
DOI: 10.31586/ojms.2025.1150
Received
April 30, 2024
Revised
August 21, 2024
Accepted
November 12, 2024
Published
January 23, 2025
Keywords
Chronic Medical Conditions; Health Disparities; Socioeconomic Status; Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs); Racial and Ethnic Inequities; Educational Attainment; Structural Racism
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Scientific Publications
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Cite This Article

APA Style
Assari, S. , & Zare, H. (2025). Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023. Current Research in Public Health, 5(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojms.2025.1150
ACS Style
Assari, S. ; Zare, H. Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023. Current Research in Public Health 2025 5(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojms.2025.1150
Chicago/Turabian Style
Assari, Shervin, and Hossein Zare. 2025. "Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023". Current Research in Public Health 5, no. 1: 1-12. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojms.2025.1150
AMA Style
Assari S, Zare H. Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023. Current Research in Public Health. 2025; 5(1):1-12. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojms.2025.1150 
@Article{crph1150,
AUTHOR = {Assari, Shervin and Zare, Hossein},
TITLE = {Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023},
JOURNAL = {Current Research in Public Health},
VOLUME = {5},
YEAR = {2025},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {1-12},
URL = {https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJMS/article/view/1150},
ISSN = {2831-5162},
DOI = {10.31586/ojms.2025.1150},
ABSTRACT = {Background: Chronic medical conditions are major drivers of healthcare spending, morbidity, and mortality in the United States, as well as critical indicators of health disparities. The disproportionately high rates of chronic medical conditions among Black, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults compared to non-Latino Whites highlight the urgent need to examine the factors contributing to these disparities. While higher socioeconomic status is generally associated with better health outcomes, this benefit may be diminished for racialized and minoritized populations. Objective: This study investigates the protective effects of educational attainment and income-to-poverty ratio on the prevalence of chronic medical conditions and examines whether these effects vary across racial and ethnic groups, specifically among Black, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults compared to non-Latino White adults. Methods: Using data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), this cross-sectional study analyzed the association between educational attainment and chronic medical conditions across racial and ethnic groups. Logistic regression models were employed to assess whether the strength of the relationship between education and chronic medical conditions differed by racial/ethnic group, controlling for key demographic and socioeconomic covariates. Sample size was 29,373 which was reflective of 256,566,689 US population. Results: Consistent with the theory of Minorities' Diminished Returns, findings showed that the protective effects of higher educational attainment on chronic medical conditions were significantly weaker for Black, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults than for their non-Latino White counterparts. Even among individuals with higher education, Black, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults faced elevated risks of chronic medical conditions. Conclusion: While educational attainment generally reduces the prevalence of chronic medical conditions, this protective effect is moderated by racial and ethnic background. Structural barriers limit the health benefits of educational attainment. This underscores the need for policies that address structural inequities—such as low-quality education and occupational segregation—that constrain the protective health effects of educational attainment for minoritized groups.},
}
%0 Journal Article
%A Assari, Shervin
%A Zare, Hossein
%D 2025
%J Current Research in Public Health

%@ 2831-5162
%V 5
%N 1
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%T Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023
%M doi:10.31586/ojms.2025.1150
%U https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJMS/article/view/1150

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Assari, Shervin
AU  - Zare, Hossein
TI  - Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023
T2  - Current Research in Public Health
PY  - 2025
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IS  - 1
SN  - 2831-5162
SP  - 1
EP  - 12
UR  - https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJMS/article/view/1150
AB  - Background: Chronic medical conditions are major drivers of healthcare spending, morbidity, and mortality in the United States, as well as critical indicators of health disparities. The disproportionately high rates of chronic medical conditions among Black, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults compared to non-Latino Whites highlight the urgent need to examine the factors contributing to these disparities. While higher socioeconomic status is generally associated with better health outcomes, this benefit may be diminished for racialized and minoritized populations. Objective: This study investigates the protective effects of educational attainment and income-to-poverty ratio on the prevalence of chronic medical conditions and examines whether these effects vary across racial and ethnic groups, specifically among Black, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults compared to non-Latino White adults. Methods: Using data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), this cross-sectional study analyzed the association between educational attainment and chronic medical conditions across racial and ethnic groups. Logistic regression models were employed to assess whether the strength of the relationship between education and chronic medical conditions differed by racial/ethnic group, controlling for key demographic and socioeconomic covariates. Sample size was 29,373 which was reflective of 256,566,689 US population. Results: Consistent with the theory of Minorities' Diminished Returns, findings showed that the protective effects of higher educational attainment on chronic medical conditions were significantly weaker for Black, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults than for their non-Latino White counterparts. Even among individuals with higher education, Black, Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native adults faced elevated risks of chronic medical conditions. Conclusion: While educational attainment generally reduces the prevalence of chronic medical conditions, this protective effect is moderated by racial and ethnic background. Structural barriers limit the health benefits of educational attainment. This underscores the need for policies that address structural inequities—such as low-quality education and occupational segregation—that constrain the protective health effects of educational attainment for minoritized groups.
DO  - Weaker Effects of Educational Attainment on Chronic Medical Conditions in American Indian Alaska Native, Black, and Latino Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023
TI  - 10.31586/ojms.2025.1150
ER  -