187Racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults
Abstract Background Increased allostatic load is linked with racial discrimination exposure, providing a mechanism for the biological embedding of racism as a psychosocial stressor. We undertook an examination of how racial discrimination interacts with socioecological, environmental and health cond...
Published in: | International Journal of Epidemiology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Oxford University Press (OUP)
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab168.115 http://academic.oup.com/ije/article-pdf/50/Supplement_1/dyab168.115/40211685/dyab168.115.pdf |
id |
croxfordunivpr:10.1093/ije/dyab168.115 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
croxfordunivpr:10.1093/ije/dyab168.115 2023-05-15T16:17:00+02:00 187Racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults Cave, Leah Cooper, Matthew N. Zubrick, Stephen R. Shepherd, Carrington C.J. 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab168.115 http://academic.oup.com/ije/article-pdf/50/Supplement_1/dyab168.115/40211685/dyab168.115.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model International Journal of Epidemiology volume 50, issue Supplement_1 ISSN 0300-5771 1464-3685 General Medicine Epidemiology journal-article 2021 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab168.115 2022-04-15T06:23:30Z Abstract Background Increased allostatic load is linked with racial discrimination exposure, providing a mechanism for the biological embedding of racism as a psychosocial stressor. We undertook an examination of how racial discrimination interacts with socioecological, environmental and health conditions to affect multisystem dysregulation in a First Nations population. Methods We conducted latent class analysis (LCA) using indicators of life stress, socioeconomic background and physical and mental health from a nationally representative sample of Australian Aboriginal adults (N = 2 056). We used LCA with distal outcomes to estimate the effect of the latent class variable on our derived allostatic load index and conducted a stratified analysis to test whether allostatic load varied based on exposure to racial discrimination across latent classes. Results Our socioecological, environmental and health measures informed a four-class structure; ‘Low risk’ (30.8%), ‘Challenged but healthy’ (27.8%), ‘Mental health risk’ (24.0%) and ‘Multiple challenges’ (17.4%). Mean allostatic load was highest in ‘Multiple challenges’ compared to all other classes, both in those exposed (4.5; 95% CI: 3.9, 5.0) and not exposed (3.9; 95% CI: 3.7, 4.2) to racial discrimination. Allostatic load was significantly higher for those with exposure to racial discrimination in the ‘Multiple challenges’ class (t = 1.74, p=.04) and significantly lower in the ‘Mental health risk’ class (t=-1.67, p=.05). Conclusions Racial discrimination may not always modify physiological vulnerability to disease. Social and economic contexts must be considered when addressing the impact of racism, with a focus on individuals and sub-populations experiencing co-occurring life challenges. Key messages Racial discrimination can increase physiological dysregulation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with a profile of psychosocial stress and adverse health. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Oxford University Press (via Crossref) International Journal of Epidemiology 50 Supplement_1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Oxford University Press (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Medicine Epidemiology |
spellingShingle |
General Medicine Epidemiology Cave, Leah Cooper, Matthew N. Zubrick, Stephen R. Shepherd, Carrington C.J. 187Racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults |
topic_facet |
General Medicine Epidemiology |
description |
Abstract Background Increased allostatic load is linked with racial discrimination exposure, providing a mechanism for the biological embedding of racism as a psychosocial stressor. We undertook an examination of how racial discrimination interacts with socioecological, environmental and health conditions to affect multisystem dysregulation in a First Nations population. Methods We conducted latent class analysis (LCA) using indicators of life stress, socioeconomic background and physical and mental health from a nationally representative sample of Australian Aboriginal adults (N = 2 056). We used LCA with distal outcomes to estimate the effect of the latent class variable on our derived allostatic load index and conducted a stratified analysis to test whether allostatic load varied based on exposure to racial discrimination across latent classes. Results Our socioecological, environmental and health measures informed a four-class structure; ‘Low risk’ (30.8%), ‘Challenged but healthy’ (27.8%), ‘Mental health risk’ (24.0%) and ‘Multiple challenges’ (17.4%). Mean allostatic load was highest in ‘Multiple challenges’ compared to all other classes, both in those exposed (4.5; 95% CI: 3.9, 5.0) and not exposed (3.9; 95% CI: 3.7, 4.2) to racial discrimination. Allostatic load was significantly higher for those with exposure to racial discrimination in the ‘Multiple challenges’ class (t = 1.74, p=.04) and significantly lower in the ‘Mental health risk’ class (t=-1.67, p=.05). Conclusions Racial discrimination may not always modify physiological vulnerability to disease. Social and economic contexts must be considered when addressing the impact of racism, with a focus on individuals and sub-populations experiencing co-occurring life challenges. Key messages Racial discrimination can increase physiological dysregulation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults with a profile of psychosocial stress and adverse health. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cave, Leah Cooper, Matthew N. Zubrick, Stephen R. Shepherd, Carrington C.J. |
author_facet |
Cave, Leah Cooper, Matthew N. Zubrick, Stephen R. Shepherd, Carrington C.J. |
author_sort |
Cave, Leah |
title |
187Racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults |
title_short |
187Racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults |
title_full |
187Racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults |
title_fullStr |
187Racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults |
title_full_unstemmed |
187Racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults |
title_sort |
187racial discrimination, life stress and allostatic load in aboriginal and torres strait islander adults |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab168.115 http://academic.oup.com/ije/article-pdf/50/Supplement_1/dyab168.115/40211685/dyab168.115.pdf |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
International Journal of Epidemiology volume 50, issue Supplement_1 ISSN 0300-5771 1464-3685 |
op_rights |
https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab168.115 |
container_title |
International Journal of Epidemiology |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
Supplement_1 |
_version_ |
1766002848248627200 |