Sociology, Department of
Date of this Version
7-2015
Citation
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY 27:546–552 (2015)
Abstract
Objectives: Our study examines the relationship between perceived discrimination and levels of C-reactive protein and blood pressure in low-income youth ages 10215 years old.
Methods: Data were collected from 10 to 15 year old focal children and their mothers. Face-to-face interviews were implemented to collect data on stressors including experiences of everyday discrimination from youth. High sensitivity CRP in dried blood spot samples and diastolic and systolic blood pressure were also collected at the time of the interview.
Results: Perceived discrimination among youth was significantly associated with higher levels of CRP, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure. CRP, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure remained significant after controlling for ageadjusted BMI, waist circumference, and other factors.
Conclusions: Discrimination is a salient risk factor for inflammation and cardiovascular health. Early life course inflammation and cardiovascular reactivity are important candidate pathways through which the repeated exposure to discrimination for minority group members contributes to racial and economic health inequities in adulthood.
Comments
Copyright 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Archived here is the NIH PubMed Central version, since Wiley does not permit institutional repositories to host their version ( http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.22683/epdf ).