Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study

• Main Authors: Cave, Leah, Cooper, Matthew N., Zubrick, Stephen R., Carrington C. J. Shepherd
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: figshare 2020
• Subjects: Space Science; Medicine; Biotechnology; 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Earth and related environmental sciences; 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; FOS Biological sciences; 111714 Mental Health; FOS Health sciences; 110309 Infectious Diseases; First Nations
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5232786; https://springernature.figshare.com/collections/Racial_discrimination_and_allostatic_load_among_First_Nations_Australians_a_nationally_representative_cross-sectional_study/5232786

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 = 2056). 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 psychosocial, environmental, and health measures informed a four-class structure; ‘Low risk’, ‘Challenged but healthy’, ‘Mental health risk’ and ‘Multiple challenges’. 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.