Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study
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 con...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c8e3b9713f92432d87ba08f11e2133f7 2023-05-15T16:15:59+02:00 Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study Leah Cave Matthew N. Cooper Stephen R. Zubrick Carrington C. J. Shepherd 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09978-7 https://doaj.org/article/c8e3b9713f92432d87ba08f11e2133f7 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09978-7 https://doaj.org/toc/1471-2458 doi:10.1186/s12889-020-09978-7 1471-2458 https://doaj.org/article/c8e3b9713f92432d87ba08f11e2133f7 BMC Public Health, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2020) Racial discrimination Allostatic load Latent class analysis Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09978-7 2022-12-31T10:26:01Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles BMC Public Health 20 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Racial discrimination Allostatic load Latent class analysis Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Racial discrimination Allostatic load Latent class analysis Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Leah Cave Matthew N. Cooper Stephen R. Zubrick Carrington C. J. Shepherd Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study |
topic_facet |
Racial discrimination Allostatic load Latent class analysis Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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 = 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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Leah Cave Matthew N. Cooper Stephen R. Zubrick Carrington C. J. Shepherd |
author_facet |
Leah Cave Matthew N. Cooper Stephen R. Zubrick Carrington C. J. Shepherd |
author_sort |
Leah Cave |
title |
Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study |
title_short |
Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study |
title_full |
Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study |
title_fullStr |
Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Racial discrimination and allostatic load among First Nations Australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study |
title_sort |
racial discrimination and allostatic load among first nations australians: a nationally representative cross-sectional study |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09978-7 https://doaj.org/article/c8e3b9713f92432d87ba08f11e2133f7 |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
BMC Public Health, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09978-7 https://doaj.org/toc/1471-2458 doi:10.1186/s12889-020-09978-7 1471-2458 https://doaj.org/article/c8e3b9713f92432d87ba08f11e2133f7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09978-7 |
container_title |
BMC Public Health |
container_volume |
20 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766001855470501888 |