Racial Discrimination Key Factor to Health Disparities in African Americans
Racial discrimination may be an important reason why Blacks suffer from higher rates of cardiovascular disorders, diabetes and obesity, according to University of California, Los Angeles researchers.
A new study to be published in the Annual Review of Psychology suggests that experience or possibility of racial discrimination can cause an increase in blood pressure and heart rate.
“This is not to say that every African-American has poor health,” says Dr. Vickie M. Mays, the report’s lead author. “However, African-Americans — as a group of people — have not been able to gain as much ground as other ethnic groups. That’s when you need to worry and look at missing factors that can explain these health disparities.”
Mays says that when a person experiences discrimination, the body develops a response in which it recognizes the discrimination as something that is bad and should be defended against. It is almost similar to the response a person’s body mounts when it faces life-threatening danger.
Mays says the reaction can eventually cause the body to become strained and overworked if the person experiences discrimination on a regular basis. Many of the chemicals associated with the reaction can damage bodily systems tied to disease and obesity, says the report.
“As we deal with skyrocketing rates of obesity and rising rates of diabetes in African-Americans and other racial and ethnic minority groups, we need to think about the impact of race-based discrimination and how they respond to that stress,” she says. “It may not be just a matter of telling a person to eat better or exercise. We may need to take a look at the person’s environment and the race-based discrimination that that person is experiencing.”
