The Associations of Multiple Dimensions of Discrimination and Abdominal Fat in African American Adults: The Jackson Heart Study

Abstract

Discrimination may be adversely associated with abdominal obesity, but few studies have examined associations with abdominal fat. The purpose of this study was to examine whether discrimination was independently associated with visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) fat and whether these associations differed by sex and age. Participants self-reported experiences of everyday and lifetime discrimination. The main reason for and the coping response to these experiences were also reported. VAT and SAT were quantified by computed tomography. In fully adjusted models, higher reports of everyday discrimination were associated with greater SAT, but not VAT, volumes in men only: SAT increased by 3.6 (standard error = 1.8) cm(3) for each unit increase in the everyday discrimination score. In women, higher reports of lifetime non-racial discrimination were associated with greater VAT (71.6 ± 32.0, P < 0.05) and SAT (212.6 ± 83.6, P < 0.05), but these relationships were attenuated after controlling for body mass index. These cross-sectional findings do not fully support the independent hypothesis of discrimination and abdominal fat. Additional investigations involving longitudinal designs are warranted.