BACKGROUND: Little is known about racial or ethnic differences in hospitalizations for @entity712 ( @entity712 ), the most common hospital diagnosis for Medicare enrollees. METHODS: Using data from the Medicare Provider Analysis Record (1990-2000), we analyzed data for Medicare beneficiaries aged > or = 65 years who were hospitalized with a first-listed diagnosis of @entity712 (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code 428). We assessed racial/ethnic differences in annual prevalences and discharge outcomes for @entity1 hospitalized in 2000. RESULTS: Prevalence of @entity712 hospitalization increased over the 10-year period for white, black, Hispanic, and Asian enrollees. Prevalence was highest among those aged > or = 85 years; the age-adjusted prevalence was greater among @entity1 than @entity1 . Compared with white enrollees in 2000, the likelihood of a @entity712 hospitalization was 1.5 times greater among black enrollees, 1.2 times greater among Hispanic enrollees, and 0.5 times less likely among Asian enrollees after adjustment for age and sex (P < .05 for all). Compared with white @entity1 hospitalized with @entity712 , black and Hispanic (but not Asian) @entity1 were less likely than white @entity1 to die in a hospital. A greater proportion of black, Hispanic, and Asian @entity1 were discharged to home than white @entity1 during 2000. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of @entity712 hospitalization was highest among black and Hispanic Medicare enrollees. Because Hispanic Americans and the elderly are the fastest-growing segments of the US population, @entity712 will increase in importance as a public health concern and will require increased focus on culturally competent prevention and treatment strategies in the next decade.

Racial or ethnic differences in hospitalization for XXXX among elderly adults: Medicare, 1990 to 2000.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'patients', 'men'] @entity712 :: ('MESH:D006333', 'Disease') :: ['HF', 'heart failure']
@entity712 :: (MESH:D006333,Disease) :: ['heart failure']
