Racial discrimination and health outcomes

Racial/ethnic discrimination has been identified as a risk factor in the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in persons of color (Carter, 2007). Many persons, regardless of race/ethnicity, with PTSD symptoms resulting from combat, violent crimes, sexual assault, or natural disasters use alcohol in an attempt to cope. This longitudinal study surveyed 203 Hispanic/Latino students twice at approximately a 1-year interval, and used a cross-lagged design to compare Time 1 links from alcohol use and experiences of discrimination with the same variables at Time 2, plus symptoms of PTSD...

BACKGROUND: Healthcare discrimination based on race/ethnicity is associated with decreased healthcare access and utilization among racial/ethnic minority patients. Discrimination based on criminal record may also negatively impact healthcare access and utilization among ex-prisoners. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional survey of 172 men recently released from state prison. We examined the association between self-reported criminal record discrimination by healthcare workers and utilization of 1) emergency department (ED) and 2) primary care services...

In the USA, the impact of psychological distress may be greater for Black men who have sex with men given that they may experience both racial discrimination in society at large and discrimination due to sexual orientation within Black communities. Attachments to community members may play a role in addressing psychological distress for members of this vulnerable population. This analysis is based on 312 Black men who have sex with men recruited for a behavioural intervention trial in New York City. Analyses were conducted using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression to examine the relationship of discrimination and community attachment to psychological distress...

In 1952, the French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss published a small booklet titled Race and History . It formed part of a series of pamphlets on the so-called "race-question" by leading anthropologists and geneticists, which UNESCO published as part of its campaign against racism. Roughly twenty years later, in 1971, UNESCO invited Lévi-Strauss to give a lecture to open the International Year of Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. This time the lecture, titled "Race and culture," caused a scandal...

BACKGROUND: Only a few studies have examined race-based discrimination (RBD) and sex-based discrimination (SBD) in military samples and all are cross-sectional. OBJECTIVES: The current study examined associations between both RBD and SBD experienced during Marine recruit training and several health and functioning outcomes 11 years later in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of men and women. RESEARCH DESIGN: Linear multiple regression models were used to examine associations between sex, race/ethnicity, RBD and SBD, and later outcomes (physical health, self-esteem, and occupational/vocational functioning), accounting for baseline levels and covariates...

BACKGROUND: As our society ages, improving medical care for an older population will be crucial. Discrimination in healthcare may contribute to substandard experiences with the healthcare system, increasing the burden of poor health in older adults. Few studies have focused on the presence of healthcare discrimination and its effects on older adults. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the relationship between healthcare discrimination and new or worsened disability...

Dually enrolled Medicare-Medicaid older adults are a vulnerable population. We tested House's Conceptual Framework for Understanding Social Inequalities in Health and Aging in Medicare-Medicaid enrollees by examining the extent to which disparities indicators, which included race, age, gender, neighborhood poverty, education, income, exercise (e.g., walking), and physical activity (e.g., housework) influence physical function and emotional well-being. This secondary analysis included 337 Black (31%) and White (69%) older Medicare-Medicaid enrollees...

Two weeks after a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict the police officer involved in the death of a black man, Eric Garner, I delivered a lecture on the potential for partnership between academia and health departments to advance health equity. Afterward, a group of medical students..

OBJECTIVE: Discrimination is an important determinant of health, and its experience may contribute to the emergence of health inequalities between immigrants and nonimmigrants. We examine pathways between perceived discrimination and health among immigrants in Germany: (1) whether perceptions of discrimination predict self-reported mental and physical health (SF-12), or (2) whether poor mental and physical health predict perceptions of discrimination, and (3) whether discrimination affects physical health via mental health...

We investigated whether self-reported racial discrimination was associated with continuous glucose levels and variability in individuals with diabetes, and whether diabetes distress mediated these associations. Seventy-four Black and White women with type 2 diabetes completed the Experience of Discrimination scale, a measure of lifetime racial discrimination, and the Problem Areas in Diabetes, a measure of diabetes distress. Participants wore a continuous glucose monitor for 24 h after 8 h of fasting, a standard meal, and a 4-h run in period...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of self-reported diabetes among multi-ethnic older adults by psychosocial factors and assess predictors of diabetes risk, diagnosis, and control. DESIGN AND METHODS: The 2006 Health and Retirement Study (N=5,594) was used to determine agreement between self-reported diabetes and measured diabetes (HbA1c> or = 6.5%) by age, sex, race/ethnicity, nativity, education, health insurance coverage, body mass index, depressive symptoms, and prior report of racial discrimination...

Existing research suggests that religious institutions play a significant role in improving the health of communities, particularly those coping with racial and ethnic discrimination. Using the California Health Interview Survey, this article examines the relationship of self-reported experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination, worship attendance, and several health behaviors. Supporting existing research, higher self-reported racial/ethnic discrimination is associated with worse health behaviors. Logistic regression models indicate that the odds of engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors significantly increase for those who report attending worship, compared with those who do not attend worship, with variations by race/ethnicity...

OBJECTIVE: This comparative analysis examines the association between chronic cardiovascular, respiratory and pain conditions, race, ethnicity, nativity, length of residency, and perceived discrimination among three racial and nine ethnic subgroups of Asian Americans (Vietnamese, Filipino, and Chinese), Latino-American (Cuban, Portuguese, and Mexican), and Afro-Caribbean American (Haitian, Jamaican, and Trinidadian/Tobagonian) respondents. DESIGN: Analysis used weighted Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys-merged data from the National Latino and Asian American Study and the National Survey of American Life...

Latin America is one of the most ethnoracially heterogeneous regions of the world. Despite this, health disparities research in Latin America tends to focus on gender, class and regional health differences while downplaying ethnoracial differences. Few scholars have conducted studies of ethnoracial identification and health disparities in Latin America. Research that examines multiple measures of ethnoracial identification is rarer still. Official data on race/ethnicity in Latin America are based on self-identification which can differ from interviewer-ascribed or phenotypic classification based on skin color...

Among US racial/ethnic minority women, we examined associations between maternal experiences of racial discrimination and child growth in the first 3 years of life. We analyzed data from Project Viva, a pre-birth cohort study. We restricted analyses to 539 mother-infant pairs; 294 were Black, 127 Hispanic, 110 Asian and 8 from additional racial/ethnic groups. During pregnancy, mothers completed the Experiences of Discrimination survey that measured lifetime experiences of racial discrimination in diverse domains...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Self-reported discrimination has emerged as a predictor of negative psychological and physical health outcomes across racial/ethnic groups. The goals of this study were to determine whether C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation and risk factor for future cardiovascular disease (CVD) was independently predicted by everyday discrimination or whether race or body mass index (BMI) modified this association over a 7-year period among 2,490 women from racially diverse backgrounds. At baseline, the 10-item Williams' measure of everyday discrimination was administered...

Racial discrimination is a pervasive stressor that can undermine mental health among African American youth and young adults. Several studies identify links between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms; however, this research base does not focus on male African American youth who experience significant racism-related stress during the transition to young adulthood. Moreover, few prospective studies consider significant confounding variables that affect exposure to and perception of discriminatory treatment...

INTRODUCTION: Brazil has the largest population of African descendants outside Africa. OBJECTIVE: Mindful of the imprint of slavery on their contemporary social position, we investigated the relationship of perceived racism to hypertension. METHODS: We analyzed data (1999 - 2001) from 3,056 civil servants (mean age 42 years; 56% females) at university campuses in Rio participating in the longitudinal Pró-Saúde Study. RESULTS: Cases of prevalent hypertension had measured blood pressure equal to or greater than 140/90 mmHg or used antihypertensive medication...

OBJECTIVE: This study used a large sample size of black and white patients with type 2 diabetes to investigate the influence of perceived racial discrimination on biologic measures (glycemic control, blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol), the mental component of quality of life (MCS), and health behaviors known to improve diabetes outcomes. METHODS: 602 patients were recruited from two adult primary care clinics in the southeastern United States. Linear regression models were used to assess the associations between perceived racial discrimination, self-care, clinical outcomes, MCS, adjusting for relevant covariates...