Introduction: Aging, health, and longevity in the mexican-origin population

The population of the United States, like that of most other nations of the world, will age rapidly well into the twenty-first century. As the result of high immigration and fertility rates, as well as improvements in life expectancy, the US Census Bureau projects that, by 2050, the total number of non-Hispanic whites aged 65 and over will double, the number of blacks aged 65 and over will more than triple, and the number of Hispanics in this age bracket will increase 11-fold (U.S. Census Bureau. 2008. Table 10. Projected life expectancy at birth by sex, race, and Hispanic origin for the United States: 2010 to 2050 [NP2008-T10]. Population Division). The coming nexus of aging and diversity faced by the United States will require a greater level of scrutiny and analysis if we are to provide policy solutions to aging and health care in the United States (Torres-Gil, F., and Treas, J. 2009. Immigration and aging: The nexus of complexity and promise. Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 32(Winter), 6–10) and, by example, in Mexico and throughout Latin America (Tienda, M., and Mitchell, F. 2006. Multiple origins, uncertain destinies: Hispanics and the American future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press). Why should this matter to aging in the Americas? The connection of these two trends-aging and diversity-will lead toward a more complex and multifaceted set of challenges, problems and opportunities. This book endeavors to identify and address these issues in a manner that can enable further research and policy analysis and potential policy and program solutions. The ongoing demographic transitions facing the United States, Mexico and the Americas is an evolving cauldron of changes that encompass issues heretofore not addressed in studies of aging and diversity; namely immigration, bilateral relationships between nations, transmigration of populations and the policy aspects of health, long-term care and social supports. Thus, the topics addressed in this book highlight the myriad avenues by which policy makers in the United States, Mexico and Latin America can prepare and respond to aging, diversity and health care of the emerging Latino populations.