Perceived discrimination and chronic health in adults from nine ethnic subgroups in the USA

Abstract

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. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine which groups within the model were more likely to report perceived discrimination effects.Results. Afro-Caribbean subgroups were more likely to report perceived discrimination than Asian American and Latino-American subgroups were. Logistic regression revealed a significant positive association with perceived discrimination and chronic pain only for Latino-American respondents.Conclusion. Significant differences in reports of perceived discrimination emerged by race and ethnicity. Caribbean respondents were more likely to report high levels of perceived discrimination; however, they showed fewer significant associations related to chronic health conditions compared to Asian Americans and Latino-Americans. Examination of perceived discrimination across ethnic subgroups reveals large variations in the relationship between chronic health and discrimination by race and ethnicity. Examining perceived discrimination by ethnicity may reveal more complex chronic health patterns masked by broader racial groupings.