Discrimination In African Americans Research Articles

SPECIAL ISSUE: The Effect of Perceived Racial Discrimination in African Americans on HRV

Health disparities among African Americans have been reported for decades. This is especially true for cardiovascular disease (CVD) even when compared with other minority groups in America. Such disparities have been tied to perceived discrimination. A previous study found that perceived racism accounted for a substantial percentage of the variance in resting heart rate variability (HRV), an independent biomarker of cardiac health. The present study attempts to replicate such findings. This study includes 57 healthy African American individuals who met inclusion criteria. Participants were given the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire–Community Version (PEDQ-CV) and the Perceived Racism Scale (PRS) and had their resting HRV and blood pressure measured. After accounting for breathing rate and age, the lifetime score on the PRS uniquely accounted for up to 45% of the variability of HRV metrics. The PEDQ-CV was not found to be a statistically significant predictor of HRV. Within this sample, blood pressure was not significantly predicted by either scale. The findings suggest that lifetime perceived racism may directly affect HRV indices, which may indicate an increased risk for CVD. Further research should continue to investigate this association and potential avenues for related intervention.

Embracing heterogeneity: Implications for research on stigma, discrimination, and African Americans’ health

There has been substantial progress in research on the roles of stigma and discrimination in African Americans' health. Yet, Black-White health disparities persist. Research must, therefore, build on and address the heterogeneity that exists in stigma- and discrimination-related pathways, experiences, interventions, and research methodology. Specifically, research is needed that identifies the unique versus common mechanisms linking various forms of stigma and discrimination with African Americans' health. Moreover, beyond gender, the role of intersectionality in stigma's health effects remains unclear, and interventions are sorely needed that both enhance coping and eliminate the existence of stigma. Finally, experimental designs, though underutilized, hold promise as a method for examining mechanisms, intersectionality, and intervention efficacy.

Impaired vasodilation in pregnant African Americans: Preliminary evidence of potential antecedents and consequences.

Significant health disparities exist between African Americans (AA) and European Americans (EA) in hypertension and hypertension-related disorders. Evidence suggests that this is due to impaired vasodilation in AAs. Pregnancy is a potent systemic vasodilatory state. However, differences in vasodilation between AAs and EAs have not been investigated in pregnancy. We sought to examine the effects of pregnancy on vasodilation in AA and EA women and how this might be related to discrimination and low birth weight in their offspring. Hemodynamics [blood pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR)] and heart rate variability (HF-HRV) were examined at baseline in 40 pregnant AAs (n=20) and EAs (n=20) and matched nonpregnant women (n=40). The Experiences of Discrimination scale and birth weight were also measured in the offspring of the pregnant participants. Whereas pregnancy was associated with decreased MAP independent of race, AAs showed impaired vasodilation independent of pregnancy status as indicated by greater TPR despite greater HF-HRV. In AAs, but not EAs, reports of fewer incidences of discrimination were associated with greater TPR. Finally, the HF-HRV of EA mothers was inversely related to the birth weight of their offspring but was uncorrelated in AAs. We report novel evidence of impaired vasodilation to an endogenous vasodilatory stimulus in AAs. Higher TPR was related to discrimination in AAs and higher HF-HRV was related to low birth weight in EAs. These findings have implications for understanding the intergenerational transmission of impaired vasodilation in AAs.

Let’s Talk Sex: Exploring Sexual Risk and Experiences of Discrimination in African Americans

African Americans experience increased sexual risks, such as early onset of sexual intercourse, unprotected sexual encounters and more lifetime sexual partners, resulting in disproportionately high rates of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. Despite current prevention efforts, these disparities persist. A better understanding of the role of structural factors such as discrimination in influencing individual sexual risk is needed. We conducted a systematic literature review to explore the role of discrimination in the sexual experiences of African Americans. Results indicate experiences of racial discrimination among African American adolescents and adults are associated with younger age at first sex, unprotected sex and number of lifetime partners. Implications for prevention efforts and future research are discussed.

Racial discrimination, racial/ethnic segregation, and health behaviors in the CARDIA study

Objective Racial discrimination has been associated with unhealthy behaviors, but the mechanisms responsible for these associations are not understood and may be related to residential racial segregation. We investigated associations between self-reported racial discrimination and health behaviors before and after controlling for individual- and neighborhood-level characteristics; and potential effect modification of these associations by segregation. Design We used data from the longitudinal Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study for 1169 African-Americans and 1322 whites. To assess racial discrimination, we used a four category variable to capture the extent and persistence of self-reported discrimination between examination at years 7 (1992–1993) and 15 (2000–2001). We assessed smoking status, alcohol consumption, and physical activity at year 20 (2005–2006). Segregation was examined as the racial/ethnic composition at the Census tract level. Results Discrimination was more common in African-Americans (89.1%) than in whites (40.0%). Living in areas with high percentage of blacks was associated with less reports of discrimination in African-Americans but more reports in whites. After adjustment for selected characteristics including individual- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic conditions and segregation, we found significant positive associations of discrimination with smoking and alcohol consumption in African-Americans and with smoking in whites. African-Americans experiencing moderate or high discrimination were more physically active than those reporting no discrimination. Whites reporting some discrimination were also more physically active than those reporting no discrimination. We observed no interactions between discrimination and segregation measures in African-Americans or whites for any of the three health behaviors. Conclusions Racial discrimination may impact individuals' adoption of healthy and unhealthy behaviors independent of racial/ethnic segregation. These behaviors may help individuals buffer or reduce the stress of discrimination.

Individualistic and collectivistic worldviews: Implications for understanding perceptions of racial discrimination in African Americans and British Caribbean Americans.

Cultural worldviews and perceived racial discrimination were examined among Americans (n = 106) and British Caribbean Americans (n = 95), both of African descent, who were recruited through university student organizations, community organizations, and snowball sampling. Consistent with public perceptions of differences in the experience of race among these 2 groups, multiple regression analyses revealed African Americans were more likely than British Caribbean Americans to perceive racial discrimination in the United States. In addition, a cultural worldview focus on individuality and equality (i.e., horizontal individualism) moderated the relationship between ethnic group and perceived racial discrimination. British Caribbean Americans who endorsed greater agreement with horizontal individualism were less likely to perceive racial discrimination. The same worldview was unrelated to African Americans' perceptions of racial discrimination. The results are discussed with respect to within-group heterogeneity among persons of African descent. Implications for counseling persons of African descent and future research directions are discussed.

Depression and depression care in diabetes: relationship to perceived discrimination in African Americans.

Depression is more prevalent in both African Americans and Caucasians with diabetes (1) than in nondiabetic control subjects (2), and it is associated with worse diabetes outcomes (3,4). Prospective studies (5) show that everyday encounters with discrimination predict subsequent depressive symptoms in nondiabetic individuals. When discrimination is perceived, specifically in health care, it may also interfere with depression care. This study investigated perceived discrimination, depressive symptoms, and depression care in diabetic African Americans. Participants were African-American adults with diabetes attending 2004–2006 American Diabetes Association health fairs in northeastern U.S. cities. Attendees responded to a sign advertising “Research for African Americans with diabetes.” After informed consent, participants completed questionnaires and provided fingerprick blood samples for A1C assessment (6). Participants were paid $5.00 and given A1C results with referrals to community health centers. Demographic questions included age, sex, insurance, primary care provider, and socioeconomic status (SES), which was assessed with income and education. A medical history questionnaire asked about physician-diagnosed disorders (including depression) and whether medication was taken for each disorder. These questions were modeled after the Centers for Disease Control’s survey questions (7,8) for patient report of physician-diagnosed disorders. Participants completed three additional questionnaires, as follows. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CESD) scale (9) is a 20-item measure of depressive symptoms. A score of >21 discriminates between depressed and nondepressed individuals in medical populations (10,11). α in this sample was 0.87. The Schedule of Racist Events (SRE) (12) is an 18-item questionnaire that measures frequency and stressfulness of racial discrimination situations (e.g., in …

Subtyping of the HLA-DQA1 Locus and Independence Testing with PM and STR/VNTR Loci

Allele and genotype frequencies for six loci (HLA-DQA1 and PM loci) were determined in African Americans, United States Caucasians, and Southwestern Hispanics. The data include allele frequencies of the HLA-DQA1 4 subtypes. The HLA-DQA1 4 allele subtyping affords greater power of discrimination in African Americans and Southwestern Hispanics than in Caucasians, due to the relatively lower 4.2/4.3 allele frequency in Caucasians. Based on the exact test, all loci, except the GYPA locus in the African American sample (p = 0.011), meet Hardy-Weinberg expectations. There were two examples of significant departures from expectations of independence between alleles of the HLA-DQA1 and PM loci (HBGG/Gc in African Americans, p = 0.30; LDLR/DQA1 in Caucasians, p = 0.023). The HLA-DQA1 and PM loci also were tested for associations with three STR loci and the DIS80 locus. There were four examples of significant departures from expectations of independence (TPOX/D7S8 and THO1/HBGG in African Americans, p = 0.035 and 0.028, respectively; THO1/LDLR in Caucasians, p = 0.028; and GYPA/D1S80 in Hispanics, p = 0.046). The HLA-DQA1 and PM allele frequency data were compared with previously reported data on other sample populations of the same population categories from our laboratory; the allele frequencies at all loci, except the D7S8 locus in Hispanics (p = 0.028), were statistically similar. The frequency data can be used in forensic analyses and paternity tests to estimate the frequency of a multiple locus DNA profile in various general United States populations.