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Perceived Discrimination is Associated with Health Behaviors among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study*
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Sep 28 2015
Source: J Epidemiol Community Health. 70(2):187-194. -
Alternative Title:J Epidemiol Community Health
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Personal Author:
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Description:Background
Using Jackson Heart Study data, we examined associations of multiple measures of perceived discrimination with health behaviors among African Americans (AA).
Methods
The cross-sectional associations of everyday, lifetime, and burden of discrimination with odds of smoking and mean differences in physical activity, dietary fat, and sleep were examined among 4,939 35–84 year old participants after adjustment for age and socioeconomic status (SES).
Results
Men reported slightly higher levels of everyday and lifetime discrimination than women and similar levels of burden of discrimination as women. After adjustment for age and SES, everyday discrimination was associated with more smoking and a greater percentage of dietary fat in men and women (OR for smoking: 1.13, 95%CI 1.00,1.28 and 1.19, 95%CI 1.05,1.34; mean difference in dietary fat: 0.37, p<.05 and 0.43, p<.01, in men and women, respectively). Everyday and lifetime discrimination were associated with fewer hours of sleep in men and women (mean difference for everyday discrimination: −0.08, p<.05 and −0.18, p<.001, respectively; and mean difference for lifetime discrimination: −0.08, p<.05, and −0.24, p<.001, respectively). Burden of discrimination was associated with more smoking and fewer hours of sleep in women only.
Conclusions
Higher levels of perceived discrimination were associated with select health behaviors among men and women. Health behaviors offer a potential mechanism through which perceived discrimination affects health in AA.
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Pubmed ID:26417003
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC5014355
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