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Feister J, Najera C, Rankin K, Collins JW. Lifetime Upward Economic Mobility and US-Born Latina Women's Preterm Birth Rates. Matern Child Health J 2024; 28:1086-1091. [PMID: 38308756 PMCID: PMC11058059 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-023-03890-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To determine whether Latina women's upward economic mobility from early-life residence in impoverished urban neighborhoods is associated with preterm birth (< 37 weeks, PTB) . METHODS Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed on the Illinois transgenerational birth-file with appended US census income information for Hispanic infants (born 1989-1991) and their mothers (born 1956-1976). RESULTS In Chicago, modestly impoverished-born Latina women (n = 1,674) who experienced upward economic mobility had a PTB rate of 8.5% versus 13.1% for those (n = 3,760) with a lifelong residence in modestly impoverished neighborhoods; the unadjusted and adjusted (controlling for age, marital status, adequacy of prenatal care, and cigarette smoking) RR equaled 0.65 (0.47, 0.90) and 0.66 (0.47, 0.93), respectively. Extremely impoverished-born Latina women (n = 2,507) who experienced upward economic mobility across their life-course had a PTB rate of 12.7% versus 15.9% for those (n = 3,849) who had a lifelong residence in extremely impoverished neighborhoods, the unadjusted and adjusted RR equaled 0.8 (0.63. 1.01) and 0.95 (0.75, 1.22), respectively. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE Latina women's upward economic mobility from early-life residence in modestly impoverished urban neighborhoods is associated with a decreased risk of PTB. A similar trend is absent among their peers with an early-life residence in extremely impoverished areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Feister
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 3230 Eden Avenue, Cincinnati, OH, 45267, USA.
- Division of Neonatal and Pulmonary Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.
| | - Clarissa Najera
- School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
| | - Kristin Rankin
- School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
| | - James W Collins
- Division of Neonatology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
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Lechner BE, Kukora SK, Hawes K. Equity, inclusion and cultural humility: contemporizing the neonatal intensive care unit family-centered care model. J Perinatol 2024; 44:760-766. [PMID: 38532086 DOI: 10.1038/s41372-024-01949-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Existing NICU family centered care models lack the key elements of equity, inclusion and cultural humility. These models were conceived to support families during the stressful life event of an infant's NICU admission. Their development, however, occurred prior to recognition of the medical field's systematic shortcomings in providing equitable care and their impact on outcome disparities for marginalized communities; thus, they do not include cultural or equitable healthcare considerations. Given the significant neonatal care inequities for marginalized groups, incorporating the experience of these patients in a targeted manner into family centered care frameworks is of critical importance to ensure culturally humble and thus more just and equitable treatment. Here, we review past approaches to NICU family centered care and propose a novel, updated framework which integrates culturally humble care into the NICU family centered care framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice E Lechner
- Division of Neonatology, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
| | - Stephanie K Kukora
- Division of Neonatology and Bioethics Center, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO, USA
- Department of Pediatrics and Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Katheleen Hawes
- Division of Neonatology, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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3
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León-Pérez G, Bakhtiari E. How Education Shapes Indigenous Health Inequalities in the USA and Mexico. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2024:10.1007/s40615-024-01922-4. [PMID: 38411797 DOI: 10.1007/s40615-024-01922-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Indigenous peoples around the world face significant health disparities relative to the dominant groups in their countries, yet the magnitude and patterns of health disparities vary across countries. We use data from the National Health Interview Survey and Mexican Family Life Survey to examine the health of Indigenous peoples in Mexico and American Indians and Alaska Natives in the USA and to evaluate how they fare relative to the majority populations in their countries (non-Indigenous Mexicans and non-Hispanic Whites, respectively). We assess disparities in self-rated health and activity limitations, with a focus on how Indigenous health disparities intersect with educational gradients in health. Regression analyses reveal three primary findings. First, Indigenous health disparities are larger in the USA than in Mexico. Second, differences in educational attainment account for most of the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Mexico, but less than half in the USA. Third, in both countries, health is moderated by educational attainment such that between-group disparities are largest at the highest levels of education. However, for Indigenous Mexicans there is a "cross-over" in which Indigenous Mexicans report better health at the lowest level of education. Overall, this study finds a weak relationship between education and Indigenous health, and raises the question about the validity of using traditional measures of SES in Indigenous contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela León-Pérez
- Department of Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Elyas Bakhtiari
- Department of Sociology, William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA.
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Islam S, Jaffee SR. Social mobility and mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Soc Sci Med 2024; 340:116340. [PMID: 38006845 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023]
Abstract
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a robust correlate of mental health, and emerging research indicates that life course trajectories of SES (i.e., social mobility) may be more predictive for health outcomes than point-in-time SES assessments. This paper presents five primary meta-analyses to determine how mental health differs between social mobility groups. We conducted a systematic review of PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed for studies of social mobility and mental health. We used random-effects multilevel meta-analyses to compare mental health problems between individuals who experienced upward mobility, downward mobility, stable high SES, and stable low SES. We included data from 21 studies and 157,763 unique participants yielding 105 effect sizes. Upwardly mobile participants experienced more mental health problems than stable high SES participants (d = 0.11), fewer mental health problems than stable low SES participants (d = -0.24), and fewer mental health problems than downwardly mobile participants (d = -0.17). Downwardly mobile individuals experienced more mental health problems than stable high SES participants (d = 0.26) and fewer mental health problems than stable low SES participants (d = -0.10). Subgroup analyses revealed that the magnitude of effects did not differ by continent of study, type of generational mobility (intergenerational vs. intragenerational), or SES indicator. Meta-regressions with continuous moderators (age, gender, race, study quality) were also non-significant. Taken together, these results indicate that both upwardly and downwardly mobile individuals experience more mental health problems than those who are persistently advantaged, and they both experience fewer mental health problems than those who are persistently disadvantaged. Our findings suggest that while current SES has a stronger association with adult mental health than childhood SES, it is important to also consider the impact of early life and prior generation SES to account for lingering effects of early disadvantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samiha Islam
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 425 S. University Ave, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Sara R Jaffee
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 425 S. University Ave, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Pająk A, Polak M, Kozela M, Doryńska A, Bobak M. Trajectories in physical functioning at older age in relation to childhood and adulthood SES and social mobility: a population-based cohort study. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1228920. [PMID: 37744505 PMCID: PMC10513394 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1228920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Older age is associated with the deterioration of physical functioning (PF), and low PF is strongly related to poor quality of life among older people. We conducted a study to examine the trajectories of PF between middle and old age, considering sex differences as well as the association between socioeconomic status (SES) at different life stages and changes in PF. Methods We analyzed data from the Polish arm of the HAPIEE (Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors In Eastern Europe) study, including 1,116 men and 1,178 women aged 45-64 years at baseline. Adult and childhood SES and social mobility were assessed using a retrospectively focused questionnaire. PF was assessed using the 10-question SF-36 scale at baseline examination, face-to-face re-examination, and three postal surveys, covering up to 20 years (on average, 18 years). We employed Generalized Estimating Equations models to assess changes in PF scores over time and compare PF trajectories across different SES categories. Results After adjusting for age and other covariates, we found that, in both sexes, participants with always middle or high SES, as well as those who reported upward mobility, had higher PF scores at baseline compared to those with always low SES. A decline in PF between middle and old age was observed in all SES groups; however, the decline was slower in participants with always middle or high SES compared to those with always low SES. Conclusion This cohort study revealed that lower SES and downward social mobility were cross-sectionally associated with poorer PF, while upward social mobility seemed to largely reverse the effect of low childhood SES. In addition to the cross-sectional associations observed at baseline, advantaged SES was also significantly associated with a slower decline in PF over an 18-year follow-up period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrzej Pająk
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Maciej Polak
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Magdalena Kozela
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Public Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Doryńska
- Department of Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, National Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Martin Bobak
- Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX), Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
- Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Hibbs S, Simon BA, Howland J, Rankin KM, Collins JW. Women's Economic Mobility and Small for Gestational Age Rates: The Effect of Paternal Early-Life Socioeconomic Position. Matern Child Health J 2023; 27:1643-1650. [PMID: 37314672 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-023-03707-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether paternal early-life socioeconomic position (defined by neighborhood income) modifies the association of maternal economic mobility and infant small for gestational age (weight for gestational age < 10th percentile, SGA) rates. METHODS Stratified and multilevel binomial regression analyses were executed on the Illinois transgenerational dataset of parents (born 1956-1976) and their infants (born 1989-1991) with appended U.S. census income information. Only Chicago-born women with an early-life residence in impoverished or affluent neighborhoods were studied. RESULTS The incidence of impoverished-born women's upward economic mobility among births (n = 3777) with early-life low socioeconomic position (SEP) fathers was less than that of those (n = 576) with early-life high SEP fathers: 56% vs 71%, respectively, p < 0.01. The incidence of affluent-born women's downward economic mobility among births (n = 2370) with early-life low SEP fathers exceeded that of those (n = 3822) with early-life high SEP fathers: 79% vs 66%, respectively, p < 0.01. The adjusted RR of infant SGA for maternal upward (compared to lifelong impoverishment) economic mobility among fathers with early-life low and high SEP equaled 0.68 (0.56, 0.82) and 0.81 (0.47, 1.42), respectively. The adjusted RR of infant SGA for maternal downward (compared to lifelong residence in affluent neighborhoods) economic mobility among fathers with early-life low and high SEP were 1.37 (0.91, 2.05) and 1.17 (0.86, 1.59), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Paternal early-life SEP is associated with maternal economic mobility (both upward and downward); however, it does not modify the relationship between maternal economic mobility and infant SGA rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shayna Hibbs
- Division of Neonatology-#45, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Blair A Simon
- Division of Neonatology-#45, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Julia Howland
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Illinois School of Public Health, Chicago, USA
| | - Kristin M Rankin
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Illinois School of Public Health, Chicago, USA
| | - James W Collins
- Division of Neonatology-#45, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
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7
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Hawkins M, Mallapareddi A, Misra D. Social mobility and perinatal depression in Black women. FRONTIERS IN HEALTH SERVICES 2023; 3:1227874. [PMID: 37693235 PMCID: PMC10491480 DOI: 10.3389/frhs.2023.1227874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Background Higher socioeconomic position is associated with better birth outcomes and maternal mental health, although this relationship is less consistent for Black women. The literature is limited on the impact of social mobility across the life course on mental health of pregnant women. This study examines the impact of perceived financial status across the life-course on depressive symptoms during pregnancy among Black women. Methods Data were from the Life-course Influences of Fetal Environments (LIFE) retrospective cohort study among pregnant Black women in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. Depressive symptoms in the two weeks prior to birth were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Social mobility was determined at three intervals over the life course using self-report of financial status during childhood, adolescence, and current age in pregnancy. Results 1,410 pregnant women participated, ranging in age from 18 to 45 years old. CES-D scores ranged from 0 to 53 (mean = 15.3) and 26% of the sample reported high depressive symptoms. In each age interval, higher financial status was associated with significant protective effect on depressive symptoms, and the magnitude of the effect increased across the life course. Trajectory analysis demonstrated that both the upward (4.51; 95% CI, 2.43-6.6) and downward (4.04; 95% CI, 2.62-5.46 and 3.09; 95% CI, 1.57-4.62) life-course social mobility groups had increased mean CES-D scores compared to the static social mobility group. Conclusion This study describes the importance of previous childhood and current financial status effects on mental health in Black pregnant women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Hawkins
- Department of Health Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, American University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Arun Mallapareddi
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - Dawn Misra
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
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8
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Vu C, Arcaya M, Kawachi I, Williams DR. Moving to opportunity? Low birth weight outcomes among Southern-born Black mothers during the Great Migration. Soc Sci Med 2023; 328:115983. [PMID: 37271080 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The Great Migration was a mass movement in the United States during the twentieth century of roughly eight million Black Southerners to the Northeast, Midwest, and West. Despite its significance, little is known about the health outcomes associated with this internal migration. This study assessed the relationship between migration and low birth weight among mothers born in the South between 1950 and 1969. METHODS We used approximately 1.4 million birth records of Black infants maintained by the US National Center for Health Statistics. To tease out the roles of the healthy migrant bias and of destination contexts, we compared two migration groups to Southern non-migrators: (1) migrators moving to the North and (2) migrators moving within the South. Non-migrants were matched to migrants using coarsened exact matching. We estimated the relationship between migration status and low birth weight stratified by birth year cohorts using logistic regression models. RESULTS There was positive selection in education and marriage among migrants moving out of the South and within the South. Results showed lower odds of low birth weight in both migration groups compared to Southern non-migrants. The odds ratios of low birth weight were similar in both comparisons. CONCLUSION We found evidence consistent with a healthy migrant bias in infant health among mothers during the last decades of the Great Migration. Despite better economic opportunity, migrating to the North may not have offered additional protection for infant birth weight outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Vu
- Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Heath, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Mariana Arcaya
- Department of Urban Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Ichiro Kawachi
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Heath, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - David R Williams
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Heath, Boston, MA, USA; Department of African and African American Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Song C, Bancks MP, Whitaker KM, Wong M, Carson AP, Dutton GR, Goff DC, Gordon-Larsen P, Gunderson EP, Jacobs DR, Kiefe CI, Lewis CE, Lloyd-Jones DM, Shikany JM, Kershaw KN. Contribution of social, behavioral, and contextual exposures to Black-White disparities in incident obesity: The CARDIA study. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2023; 31:1402-1414. [PMID: 37041722 PMCID: PMC10191978 DOI: 10.1002/oby.23698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to quantify the contributions of socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioral, reproductive, and neighborhood exposures in young adulthood to Black-White differences in incident obesity. METHODS In the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, 4488 Black or White adults aged 18 to 30 years without obesity at baseline (1985-1986) were followed over 30 years. Sex-specific Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate Black-White differences in incident obesity. Models were adjusted for baseline and time-updated indicators. RESULTS During follow-up, 1777 participants developed obesity. Black women were 1.87 (95% CI: 1.63-2.13) times more likely and Black men were 1.53 (95% CI: 1.32-1.77) times more likely to develop obesity than their White counterparts after adjusting for age, field center, and baseline BMI. Baseline exposures explained 43% of this difference in women and 52% in men. Time-updated exposures explained more of the racial difference in women but less for men, compared with baseline exposures. CONCLUSIONS Adjusting for these exposures accounted for a substantial but incomplete proportion of racial disparities in incident obesity. Remaining differences may be explained by incomplete capture of the most salient aspects of these exposures or potential variation in the impact of these exposures on obesity by race.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Song
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Keck Medicine Family Residency Program, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Michael P. Bancks
- Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kara M. Whitaker
- Department of Health and Human Physiology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Mandy Wong
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - April P. Carson
- Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
| | - Gareth R. Dutton
- Department of Medicine, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - David C. Goff
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Penny Gordon-Larsen
- Depatrment of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Erica P. Gunderson
- Department of Health Systems Science, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - David R. Jacobs
- Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Catarina I. Kiefe
- Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Cora E. Lewis
- Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Donald M. Lloyd-Jones
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - James M. Shikany
- Department of Medicine, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Kiarri N. Kershaw
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Hudson D, Collins-Anderson A, Hutson W. Understanding the Impact of Contemporary Racism on the Mental Health of Middle Class Black Americans. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:1660. [PMID: 36767028 PMCID: PMC9914282 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20031660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Evidence from previous research indicates that while socioeconomic status (SES) narrows Black-White health inequities, these inequities do not completely disappear, and in some cases, worsen. Why do Black-White health inequities persist, even when controlling for SES? It is critical to examine how perceptions of unfair treatment, especially those that are nuanced and subtle, affect the mental health of Black Americans with greater levels of SES. This study, using a new sample composed exclusively of college-educated Black Americans, investigated whether experiences related to racism were associated with poorer mental health. Qualtrics provided the sample from their nationwide panelists that met the research criteria. Inclusion criteria included the following: (1) self-identified as Black or African American; (2) at least 24 years old; (3) completed a 4-year college degree or higher. The findings from this study indicated that the effects of unfair treatment are significantly associated with poorer mental health. These findings highlight the insidious nature of contemporary racism as the everyday experiences of unfair treatment have a tremendous effect on depressive symptoms among this sample of college-educated Black Americans. Efforts to simply improve SES among historically marginalized groups will not bring about health equity. Findings from this study indicate that there are mental health costs associated with upward social mobility. It is likely that these costs, particularly the experience of everyday unfair treatment, likely diminish the social, economic and health returns on the human capital.
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11
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Neonatal mortality and disparities within the military health system. J Perinatol 2023; 43:496-502. [PMID: 36635506 DOI: 10.1038/s41372-022-01598-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Racial disparity exists in U.S. neonatal mortality; Black, non-Hispanic neonates are at higher risk of death. We aim to examine overall and race-specific neonatal mortality within the Military Health System (MHS). METHODS Retrospective cohort study of infants delivered within the MHS between 2013-2015. Variables were extracted from the Military Health System Data Repository. RESULTS There were 320,283 live births within the MHS from 2013-2015; 588 neonates died, a death rate of 1.84/1000. Cohort neonatal mortality and incidence of preterm delivery (7.2%) were lower than concurrent U.S. STATISTICS Black, non-Hispanic neonates had a 2-fold increased risk of death (OR: 2.11; 95% CI 1.73-2.56, p < 0.001) over White, non-Hispanic neonates. Officer versus enlisted rank conferred no difference in neonatal mortality (OR: 0.88; 95% CI 0.74-1.03). CONCLUSION Neonatal mortality within the MHS is lower than in the U.S. Despite universal insurance coverage and access to care, racial disparity persists. Risk of death is not modified by socioeconomic status. These findings highlight the need for critical examination of healthcare equity within neonatal-perinatal medicine.
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Simoncic V, Deguen S, Enaux C, Vandentorren S, Kihal-Talantikite W. A Comprehensive Review on Social Inequalities and Pregnancy Outcome-Identification of Relevant Pathways and Mechanisms. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph192416592. [PMID: 36554473 PMCID: PMC9779203 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Scientific literature tends to support the idea that the pregnancy and health status of fetuses and newborns can be affected by maternal, parental, and contextual characteristics. In addition, a growing body of evidence reports that social determinants, measured at individual and/or aggregated level(s), play a crucial role in fetal and newborn health. Numerous studies have found social factors (including maternal age and education, marital status, pregnancy intention, and socioeconomic status) to be linked to poor birth outcomes. Several have also suggested that beyond individual and contextual social characteristics, living environment and conditions (or "neighborhood") emerge as important determinants in health inequalities, particularly for pregnant women. Using a comprehensive review, we present a conceptual framework based on the work of both the Commission on Social Determinants of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), aimed at describing the various pathways through which social characteristics can affect both pregnancy and fetal health, with a focus on the structural social determinants (such as socioeconomic and political context) that influence social position, as well as on intermediary determinants. We also suggest that social position may influence more specific intermediary health determinants; individuals may, on the basis of their social position, experience differences in environmental exposure and vulnerability to health-compromising living conditions. Our model highlights the fact that adverse birth outcomes, which inevitably lead to health inequity, may, in turn, affect the individual social position. In order to address both the inequalities that begin in utero and the disparities observed at birth, it is important for interventions to target various unhealthy behaviors and psychosocial conditions in early pregnancy. Health policy must, then, support: (i) midwifery availability and accessibility and (ii) enhanced multidisciplinary support for deprived pregnant women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Simoncic
- LIVE UMR 7362 CNRS (Laboratoire Image Ville Environnement), University of Strasbourg, 67100 Strasbourg, France
- Correspondence:
| | - Séverine Deguen
- Equipe PHARes Population Health Translational Research, Inserm CIC 1401, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, University of Bordeaux, 33076 Boedeaux, France
| | - Christophe Enaux
- LIVE UMR 7362 CNRS (Laboratoire Image Ville Environnement), University of Strasbourg, 67100 Strasbourg, France
| | - Stéphanie Vandentorren
- Equipe PHARes Population Health Translational Research, Inserm CIC 1401, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, University of Bordeaux, 33076 Boedeaux, France
- Santé Publique France, French National Public Health Agency, 94410 Saint-Maurice, France
| | - Wahida Kihal-Talantikite
- LIVE UMR 7362 CNRS (Laboratoire Image Ville Environnement), University of Strasbourg, 67100 Strasbourg, France
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13
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Braveman P. Defining Health Equity. J Natl Med Assoc 2022; 114:593-600. [PMID: 36167751 DOI: 10.1016/j.jnma.2022.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paula Braveman
- Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Founding Director, Center for Health Equity, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
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14
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Zang E, Sariego C, Krishnan A. The interplay of race/ethnicity and education in fertility patterns. POPULATION STUDIES 2022; 76:363-385. [PMID: 36256449 PMCID: PMC9613612 DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2022.2130965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
This study examines the interplay between race/ethnicity and educational attainment in shaping completed fertility in the United States for women born 1961-80. Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, 2006-17, we apply multilevel, multiprocess hazard models to account for unobserved heterogeneity and to estimate (1) cohort total fertility rates, (2) parity progression ratios, and (3) parity-specific fertility timing, for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women by educational attainment. We find that compared with their white counterparts, fertility was higher among Black and Hispanic women with less than high school education. However, among college-educated women, fertility levels were lowest among Black women and highest among Hispanic women. The difference in fertility between college-educated Black and white women is driven mainly by the smaller proportion of Black mothers having second births. We find little evidence that the observed racial/ethnic disparities in fertility levels by educational attainment are driven by differences in fertility timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Zang
- Department of Sociology, Yale University
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale University
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15
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Lin B, Appleton AA. Developmental Origins of Pregnancy-Related Morbidity and Mortality in Black U.S. Women. Front Public Health 2022; 10:853018. [PMID: 35769781 PMCID: PMC9234444 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.853018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the US, Black women are at disproportionate risk for pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality (PRMM). Disparities in PRMM have been tied to elevated rates of obstetric cardiometabolic complications for Black women. Research seeking to elucidate the determinants of Black PRMM to date have focused predominantly on risk factors occurring during pregnancy (e.g., health risk behaviors, quantity and quality of prenatal care, provider behaviors, and attitudes). Meanwhile, other research investigating the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) model indicates that the origins of adult cardiometabolic health can be traced back to stress exposures occurring during the intrauterine and early life periods. Despite the relevancy of this work to Black PRMM, the DOHaD model has never been applied to investigate the determinants of Black PRMM. We argue that the DOHaD model represents a compelling theoretical framework from which to conceptualize factors that drive racial disparities PRMM. Research and intervention working from a developmental origins orientation may help address this urgent public health crisis of Black PRMM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Betty Lin
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, United States
- *Correspondence: Betty Lin
| | - Allison A. Appleton
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, United States
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16
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DeAngelis RT. "Moving on Up? Neighborhood Status and Racism-Related Distress among Black Americans". SOCIAL FORCES; A SCIENTIFIC MEDIUM OF SOCIAL STUDY AND INTERPRETATION 2022; 100:1503-1532. [PMID: 35847476 PMCID: PMC9285664 DOI: 10.1093/sf/soab075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
At all levels of socioeconomic status, Black Americans can expect to live shorter and sicker lives than their White counterparts. This study advances the perspective that anti-Black stigma from Whites precludes Blacks from reaping the full health rewards of higher status, particularly within the context of neighborhoods. To test this hypothesis, I merge census data with rich survey and biomarker data from the Nashville Stress and Health Study, a representative sample of Black and White adults from Davidson County, Tennessee (n = 1,252). Initially, I find that Blacks who reside in higher-status and mostly White communities exhibit lower levels of neuroendocrine stress hormones, relative to their peers living in disadvantaged Black neighborhoods. But Blacks in higher-status areas also report more perceived discrimination. In turn, perceived discrimination is associated with chronic bodily pain, as well as elevated stress hormones and blood pressure tied to high goal-striving stress, or fears of being blocked from reaching life goals. After accounting for racism-related stressors, Blacks exhibit comparable levels of physiological distress regardless of neighborhood context. The inverse is true for Whites, who report fewer stressors in higher-status neighborhoods, and less physiological distress than Blacks overall. Findings are discussed within the context of social evolutionary theories of the human brain and are dovetailed with broader racial health disparities in the United States.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reed T. DeAngelis
- Department of Sociology and the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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17
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Graf GHJ, Zhang Y, Domingue BW, Harris KM, Kothari M, Kwon D, Muennig P, Belsky DW. Social mobility and biological aging among older adults in the United States. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac029. [PMID: 35615471 PMCID: PMC9123172 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Lower socioeconomic status is associated with faster biological aging, the gradual and progressive decline in system integrity that accumulates with advancing age. Efforts to promote upward social mobility may, therefore, extend healthy lifespan. However, recent studies suggest that upward mobility may also have biological costs related to the stresses of crossing social boundaries. We tested associations of life-course social mobility with biological aging using data from participants in the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) Venous Blood Study who provided blood-chemistry (n = 9,255) and/or DNA methylation (DNAm) data (n = 3,976). We quantified social mobility from childhood to later-life using data on childhood family characteristics, educational attainment, and wealth accumulation. We quantified biological aging using 3 DNAm "clocks" and 3 blood-chemistry algorithms. We observed substantial social mobility among study participants. Those who achieved upward mobility exhibited less-advanced and slower biological aging. Associations of upward mobility with less-advanced and slower aging were consistent for blood-chemistry and DNAm measures of biological aging, and were similar for men and women and for Black and White Americans (Pearson-r effect-sizes ∼0.2 for blood-chemistry measures and the DNAm GrimAge clock and DunedinPoAm pace-of-aging measures; effect-sizes were smaller for the DNAm PhenoAge clock). Analysis restricted to educational mobility suggested differential effects by racial identity; mediating links between educational mobility and healthy aging may be disrupted by structural racism. In contrast, mobility producing accumulation of wealth appeared to benefit White and Black Americans equally, suggesting economic intervention to reduce wealth inequality may have potential to heal disparities in healthy aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria Huei-Jong Graf
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Robert N Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Yalu Zhang
- Columbia School of Social Work, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Peking University Institute of Population Research, Beijing, China
| | | | - Kathleen Mullan Harris
- Department of Sociology, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Meeraj Kothari
- Robert N Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Dayoon Kwon
- Robert N Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA
- UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Peter Muennig
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Daniel W Belsky
- Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Robert N Butler Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA
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18
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Koning SM, Polos JA, Kershaw KN, McDade TW. Racial Inequities in Birth Weight by Maternal Age Among College-Educated Mothers: The Role of Early Disadvantage. Am J Prev Med 2022; 62:735-744. [PMID: 35183408 PMCID: PMC9035061 DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Non-Hispanic Black infants experience disproportionately high risks of low birth weight compared with non-Hispanic White infants, particularly among mothers with high educational attainment and greater socioeconomic advantage. This study investigates how maternal early-life disadvantage contributes to ongoing racial birth weight inequities among U.S. college‒educated mothers, specifically declining birth weights with age among non-Hispanic Black mothers. METHODS Study analyses used cohort data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Racial inequities in birth weight by maternal age and early-life disadvantage were assessed using completed reproductive histories among college-educated mothers at ages 33-44 years collected in 2016‒2018 and regression-based marginal standardization techniques. Early-life disadvantage was measured using a study-based composite measure of early-life concentrated poverty and social disadvantage in homes, neighborhoods, and schools, collected in previous waves. Primary analyses were completed in 2020‒2021. RESULTS Among non-Hispanic Black mothers who experienced high early-life disadvantage, a 1-year increase in maternal age at delivery was associated with lower birth weight by 26.07 g (95% CI= -48.74, -3.40). Similar declines were not found among non-Hispanic Black mothers with low early-life disadvantage. Non-Hispanic White mothers experienced increased birth weight with maternal age, 6.85 g (95% CI= -1.12, 14.82) per year, which did not significantly vary by early-life disadvantage. CONCLUSIONS Early-life disadvantage modifies whether and how college-educated mothers experience birth weight decline with older age. The effects of early-life contexts and embedded racial inequities on maternal health inequities and differential weathering warrant further public health attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M Koning
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; Department of Anthropology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
| | - Jessica A Polos
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
| | - Kiarri N Kershaw
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Thomas W McDade
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; Department of Anthropology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
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19
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Rubin SE, Hines J. "As Long as I Got a Breath in My Body": Risk and Resistance in Black Maternal Embodiment. Cult Med Psychiatry 2022; 47:495-518. [PMID: 35381902 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-022-09780-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
"Mothering while black" in Cleveland, Ohio is a radical act. This highly segregated, highly unequal urban environment is replete with the chronic stressors that degrade well-being and diminish survival for Black mothers and their infants; specifically, a maternal mortality rate two and a half times that of their white counterparts and an infant mortality rate nearly three times that of infants born to white mothers. In the midst of such tragedy and disadvantage, Black mothers strive to love and care for their children in ways that mitigate the toxicity of structural racism. The seventeen pregnant and postpartum Black women in this ethnographic study describe transformational experiences with what we label "betterment:" whereby they center their children's perspective and needs, reconsider their social networks, and focus on the future with an unflinching understanding of the constraints of structural racism. Locating betterment alongside other examples of maternal embodiment and through the rich theoretical lens of Black feminist scholars these participant narratives suggest that the toxic effects of racism and the means to resist them are embodied by Black mothers. A nuanced understanding of Black motherhood disrupts public discourses of blame and responsibility that obscure our collective duty to dismantle structural racism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Rubin
- Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Cleveland, USA.
| | - Joselyn Hines
- Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Cleveland, USA
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20
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CURTIS DAVIDS, FULLER‐ROWELL THOMASE, CARLSON DANIELL, WEN MING, KRAMER MICHAELR. Does a Rising Median Income Lift All Birth Weights? County Median Income Changes and Low Birth Weight Rates Among Births to Black and White Mothers. Milbank Q 2022; 100:38-77. [PMID: 34609027 PMCID: PMC8932634 DOI: 10.1111/1468-0009.12532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Policy Points Policies that increase county income levels, particularly for middle-income households, may reduce low birth weight rates and shrink disparities between Black and White infants. Given the role of aggregate maternal characteristics in predicting low birth weight rates, policies that increase human capital investments (e.g., funding for higher education, job training) could lead to higher income levels while improving population birth outcomes. The association between county income levels and racial disparities in low birth weight is independent of disparities in maternal risks, and thus a broad set of policies aimed at increasing income levels (e.g., income supplements, labor protections) may be warranted. CONTEXT Low birth weight (LBW; <2,500 grams) and infant mortality rates vary among place and racial group in the United States, with economic resources being a likely fundamental contributor to these disparities. The goals of this study were to examine time-varying county median income as a predictor of LBW rates and Black-White LBW disparities and to test county prevalence and racial disparities in maternal sociodemographic and health risk factors as mediators. METHODS Using national birth records for 1992-2014 from the National Center for Health Statistics, a total of approximately 27.4 million singleton births to non-Hispanic Black and White mothers were included. Data were aggregated in three-year county-period observations for 868 US counties meeting eligibility requirements (n = 3,723 observations). Sociodemographic factors included rates of low maternal education, nonmarital childbearing, teenage pregnancy, and advanced-age pregnancy; and health factors included rates of smoking during pregnancy and inadequate prenatal care. Among other covariates, linear models included county and period fixed effects and unemployment, poverty, and income inequality. FINDINGS An increase of $10,000 in county median income was associated with 0.34 fewer LBW cases per 100 live births and smaller Black-White LBW disparities of 0.58 per 100 births. Time-varying county rates of maternal sociodemographic and health risks mediated the association between median income and LBW, accounting for 65% and 25% of this estimate, respectively, but racial disparities in risk factors did not mediate the income association with Black-White LBW disparities. Similarly, county median income was associated with very low birth weight rates and related Black-White disparities. CONCLUSIONS Efforts to increase income levels-for example, through investing in human capital, enacting labor union protections, or attracting well-paying employment-have broad potential to influence population reproductive health. Higher income levels may reduce LBW rates and lead to more equitable outcomes between Black and White mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - MING WEN
- University of UtahSalt Lake City
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21
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Hargrove TW, Gaydosh L, Dennis AC. Contextualizing Educational Disparities in Health: Variations by Race/Ethnicity, Nativity, and County-Level Characteristics. Demography 2022; 59:267-292. [PMID: 34964867 PMCID: PMC9190239 DOI: 10.1215/00703370-9664206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Educational disparities in health are well documented, yet the education-health relationship is inconsistent across racial/ethnic and nativity groups. These inconsistencies may arise from characteristics of the early life environments in which individuals attain their education. We evaluate this possibility by investigating (1) whether educational disparities in cardiometabolic risk vary by race/ethnicity and nativity among Black, Hispanic, and White young adults; (2) the extent to which racial/ethnic-nativity differences in the education-health relationship are contingent on economic, policy, and social characteristics of counties of early life residence; and (3) the county characteristics associated with the best health at higher levels of education for each racial/ethnic-nativity group. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we find that Black young adults who achieve high levels of education exhibit worse health across a majority of contexts relative to their White and Hispanic counterparts. Additionally, we observe more favorable health at higher levels of education across almost all contexts for White individuals. For all other racial/ethnic-nativity groups, the relationship between education and health depends on the characteristics of the early life counties of residence. Findings highlight place-based factors that may contribute to the development of racial/ethnic and nativity differences in the education-health relationship among U.S. young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor W. Hargrove
- Department of Sociology, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| | - Lauren Gaydosh
- Department of Sociology, Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin
| | - Alexis C. Dennis
- Department of Sociology, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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22
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Schweiger JI, Capraz N, Akdeniz C, Braun U, Ebalu T, Moessnang C, Berhe O, Zang Z, Schwarz E, Bilek E, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Tost H. Brain structural correlates of upward social mobility in ethnic minority individuals. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2022; 57:2037-2047. [PMID: 34383084 PMCID: PMC9477908 DOI: 10.1007/s00127-021-02163-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) is a neural convergence site for social stress-related risk factors for mental health, including ethnic minority status. Current social status, a strong predictor of mental and somatic health, has been related to gray matter volume in this region, but the effects of social mobility over the lifespan are unknown and may differ in minorities. Recent studies suggest a diminished health return of upward social mobility for ethnic minority individuals, potentially due to sustained stress-associated experiences and subsequent activation of the neural stress response system. METHODS To address this issue, we studied an ethnic minority sample with strong upward social mobility. In a cross-sectional design, we examined 64 young adult native German and 76 ethnic minority individuals with comparable sociodemographic attributes using whole-brain structural magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS Results showed a significant group-dependent interaction between perceived upward social mobility and pACC gray matter volume, with a significant negative association in the ethnic minority individuals. Post-hoc analysis showed a significant mediation of the relationship between perceived upward social mobility and pACC volume by perceived chronic stress, a variable that was significantly correlated with perceived discrimination in our ethnic minority group. CONCLUSION Our findings extend prior work by pointing to a biological signature of the "allostatic costs" of socioeconomic attainment in socially disadvantaged upwardly mobile individuals in a key neural node implicated in the regulation of stress and negative affect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janina I Schweiger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Necip Capraz
- Department of Psychology, Istanbul Gelisim University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ceren Akdeniz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Urs Braun
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Tracie Ebalu
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Carolin Moessnang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Oksana Berhe
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Zhenxiang Zang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Emanuel Schwarz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Edda Bilek
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Heike Tost
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Square J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
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23
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Kathawa CA, Arora KS, Zielinski R, Low LK. Perspectives of Doulas of Color on their Role in Alleviating Racial Disparities in Birth Outcomes: A Qualitative Study. J Midwifery Womens Health 2021; 67:31-38. [PMID: 34825764 DOI: 10.1111/jmwh.13305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to explore how doulas of color conceptualize both their work and how their racial and ethnic identities influence their work within the context of racial disparities in birth outcomes in the United States. METHODS We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with doulas of color who had attended at least 3 births as doulas. Participants were recruited from across the United States. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was used to derive themes from the transcribed interviews. RESULTS Interviews were conducted with 8 doulas of color, ranging in age from 21 to 47 from across the United States. All participants were either current college students or had earned a college degree. Although many of the doulas identified as being of more than one racial or ethnic group, nearly all participants identified closely with being Black or African American first, and their other racial groups second. Four major themes emerged: relationship with the medical system, role of identity in the doulas' work, role of class, and divisions within the natural birth movement. DISCUSSION The majority of doulas who participated in this study stated that their racial identity strongly influenced their work, particularly when working with women of the same race or ethnicity due to their shared identities. Several participants initially became doulas because of a desire to alleviate disparities in birth outcomes for women of color. This suggests a commitment on the part of the study participants to serving their communities and to bridging the gap between women of color and the health care system. Several participants also noted that they feel alienated by both the health care system and the mainstream natural birth community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosette A Kathawa
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Kavita Shah Arora
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Ruth Zielinski
- School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Lisa Kane Low
- School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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24
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Rapp KS, Volpe VV, Neukrug H. State-Level Sexism and Women's Health Care Access in the United States: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, 2014-2019. Am J Public Health 2021; 111:1796-1805. [PMID: 34473559 PMCID: PMC8561184 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2021.306455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Objectives. To quantify racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between state-level sexism and barriers to health care access among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women in the United States. Methods. We merged a multidimensional state-level sexism index compiled from administrative data with the national Consumer Survey of Health Care Access (2014-2019; n = 10 898) to test associations between exposure to state-level sexism and barriers to access, availability, and affordability of health care. Results. Greater exposure to state-level sexism was associated with more barriers to health care access among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women, but not non-Hispanic White women. Affordability barriers (cost of medical bills, health insurance, prescriptions, and tests) appeared to drive these associations. More frequent need for care exacerbated the relationship between state-level sexism and barriers to care for Hispanic women. Conclusions. The relationship between state-level sexism and women's barriers to health care access differs by race/ethnicity and frequency of needing care. Public Health Implications. State-level policies may be used strategically to promote health care equity at the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(10):1796-1805. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306455).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Schorpp Rapp
- Kristen Schorpp Rapp is with the Department of Sociology and Public Health, Roanoke College, Salem, VA. Vanessa V. Volpe and Hannah Neukrug are with the Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
| | - Vanessa V Volpe
- Kristen Schorpp Rapp is with the Department of Sociology and Public Health, Roanoke College, Salem, VA. Vanessa V. Volpe and Hannah Neukrug are with the Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
| | - Hannah Neukrug
- Kristen Schorpp Rapp is with the Department of Sociology and Public Health, Roanoke College, Salem, VA. Vanessa V. Volpe and Hannah Neukrug are with the Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
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25
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Clay SL, Woodson MJ, Kersh R. An Exploration of Socio-demographic, Economic, and Environmental Factors in Black/White Disparities in Low Birth Weight Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Res Health Sci 2021; 21:e00511. [PMID: 34465634 PMCID: PMC8957679 DOI: 10.34172/jrhs.2021.49] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Numerous studies have been conducted to seek a better understanding of disparities in adverse pregnancy outcomes. The present study aimed to explore racial differences in influential socio-demographic, economic, and environmental factors in women who have had a low birth weight (LBW) infant (outcome variable).
Study Design: A cross-sectional study.
Methods: This study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.
Results: The obtained results pointed to statistical racial differences between Non-Hispanic (NH) Black and NH White women in the socio-demographic variable of marital status (P<0.001). Regarding the assessed economic stability variables, employment status (P=0.032), poverty level (P<0.001), earnings (P=0.038), and federal government assistance paying for rent (P=0.007) were statistically significant across the two racial groups. The environmental factors that were statistically significant across racial groups were living in public housing projects (P=0.018), car ownership (P<0.001), and neighborhood safety (P=0.010). The results of the multivariate models revealed that NH Black race and government assistance to pay rent were associated with an increased likelihood of LBW, while being married, having health care coverage, and living in public housing were associated with a decreased likelihood.
Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, there were statistically significant racial differences in sociodemographic, economic, and environmental/physical characteristics associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shondra Loggins Clay
- College of Health and Human Sciences, School of Interdisciplinary Health Professions, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA.
| | - Markisha J Woodson
- Department of Public Health, College of Education and Health Services, Benedictine University, Lisle, Illinois, USA
| | - Renique Kersh
- Office of the President, Vice President for Student Affairs, Simmons University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Adams SY, Davis TW, Lechner BE. Perspectives on Race and Medicine in the NICU. Pediatrics 2021; 147:peds.2020-029025. [PMID: 33593849 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2020-029025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Current data regarding racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes of newborns requiring care in an NICU reveal significant differences in quality and access to care that disproportionally affects infants of color, particularly African American infants. These inequalities result in an increased infant mortality rate for Black children and higher preterm birth rates, as well as an increase in deaths due to low birth weight and decreased gestational age. Concurrently, there is emerging research exploring the role of diversity and adequate representation among medical providers in patient outcomes in Black communities. In this editorial, we present commentaries from a medical student, a neonatologist, and a parent of former NICU patients to further explore race in the NICU from different perspectives and understand what can be learned from their experiences about these systemic issues and why representation is a critical component of successful change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon Y Adams
- Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island;
| | | | - Beatrice E Lechner
- Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.,Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island; and
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Sheehan CM, Walsemann KM, Ailshire JA. Race/ethnic differences in educational gradients in sleep duration and quality among U.S. adults. SSM Popul Health 2020; 12:100685. [PMID: 33204809 PMCID: PMC7653162 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
At the population level, those with more education tend to report better sleep, mirroring the education gradient found in other health outcomes. But research has shown that higher educational attainment does not always confer the same health benefits for Non-Hispanic Black (Black) and Hispanic adults as it does for Non-Hispanic White (White) adults. It is therefore possible that the educational gradient in sleep varies across racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Using the 2004–2018 National Health Interview Survey (N = 356,048), we examined differences in self-reported sleep duration and sleep quality by level of educational attainment and race/ethnicity. Utilizing multinomial (sleep duration) and negative binomial (times in the past week with difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep) regression models, we found that, compared to their less educated counterparts, college or more educated Whites were more likely to report ideal sleep compared to short or long sleep, and also reported fewer times with difficulty falling or staying asleep. The education-sleep association was generally reversed for Black and Hispanic adults, with the worst sleep being reported by those with college-level education. These patterns remained after adjusting for health behaviors, health outcomes, and socioeconomic status. Our study suggests that education does not yield the same protective benefit for sleep among Black and Hispanic adults as it does for White adults, and that highly educated Black and Hispanic adults in particular experience a sleep disadvantage. The differential education gradient in sleep may, therefore, be an important factor underlying current racial and ethnic health disparities. Greater education was associated with fewer sleep problems for Whites. This association was generally reversed for Blacks and Hispanics. Education may be a “double-edged sword” for the sleep of Blacks and Hispanics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor M Sheehan
- T. Denny School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, USA
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Ross KM, Guardino C, Schetter CD, Hobel CJ. Interactions between race/ethnicity, poverty status, and pregnancy cardio-metabolic diseases in prediction of postpartum cardio-metabolic health. ETHNICITY & HEALTH 2020; 25:1145-1160. [PMID: 29962223 PMCID: PMC6339606 DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2018.1493433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 06/11/2018] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Background: Prenatal health disparities exist for African Americans and low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals when compared to non-Hispanic Whites and people of higher SES, particularly in cardio-metabolic diseases. Furthermore, having had a pregnancy-specific cardio-metabolic disease, e.g. preeclampsia, increases risk for future cardio-metabolic disease. Although these factors (race, SES and pregnancy cardio-metabolic disease) are interrelated, studies have rarely considered their combined effect on postpartum cardio-metabolic risk. The purpose of this study was to assess whether SES, race/ethnicity, and prenatal cardio-metabolic disease interact in the prediction of postpartum cardio-metabolic risk. Methods: A sample of 1,753 low-income women of African American, Latina, non-Hispanic White race/ethnicity was recruited after a birth in 5 US sites. Household income was used to categorize poverty status as Poor (< Federal Poverty Level; FPL), near poor (100-200% FPL), or low/middle income (> 200% FPL). Three prenatal cardio-metabolic disease diagnoses (preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes) were identified from medical records. Four biomarkers (mean arterial pressure, glycosylated haemoglobin, total cholesterol:HDL ratio, and waist-hip ratio) were collected at 6 and 12 months postpartum, and combined into an average postpartum cardio-metabolic risk index. Maternal age, pre-pregnancy body mass index, parity, health behaviors and employment status were covariates. Results: Analyses revealed interactions of race/ethnicity, poverty status, and prenatal cardio-metabolic diseases in the prediction of postpartum cardio-metabolic risk. African American women had higher postpartum cardio-metabolic risk, which was exacerbated following a prenatal cardio-metabolic disease. Low/middle income African American women had higher cardio-metabolic risk compared to poor African American, and all Latina and White women. Conclusions: African American women, and especially those who experienced pregnancy complications, emerged as vulnerable, and greater household income did not appear to confer protection against worse postpartum cardio-metabolic risk for this group. These results highlight the complex interplay between socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity with respect to understanding health disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kharah M. Ross
- Department of Psychology, University of California: Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, 90095, US; 310-825-2961,
| | - Christine Guardino
- Department of Psychology, Dickinson College, 28 North College St, Carlisle, 17013, US; 717-245-1255;
| | - Christine Dunkel Schetter
- Department of Psychology, University of California: Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, 90095, US; 310-825-2961,
| | - Calvin J. Hobel
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, 8631 W Third St Suite 1001, Los Angeles, 90048, US; 310-423-3365;
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Association between GDF15, poverty and mortality in urban middle-aged African American and white adults. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0237059. [PMID: 32764826 PMCID: PMC7413478 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mortality disparities are influenced by race and poverty. There is limited information about whether poverty influences biologic markers of mortality risk. Emerging data suggests that growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is associated with mortality; however, the interplay between GDF15, sociodemographic factors and mortality is not known. We sought to evaluate the interactions between GDF15 and sex, race and poverty status on mortality. Serum GDF15 was measured in 1036 African American and white middle-aged men and women above and below 125% of the Federal poverty status from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study. Multivariable adjusted Cox regression models were used to assess the association between log-transformed GDF15 (logGDF15) and 12-year mortality outcomes (all-cause, cardiovascular- and cancer-specific outcomes) and interactions with sex, race and poverty status. Likelihood ratio tests were used to assess significance of the interaction terms. Median GDF15 was 655.2 pg/mL (IQR = 575.1). During 12.2 years of follow-up, 331 died of which 94 cardiovascular- and 87 were cancer-specific deaths. One unit of increase in logGDF15 was associated with a hazard ratio for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular- and cancer-specific mortality of 2.26 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.94–2.64), 2.74 (95%CI, 2.06–3.63) and 1.41 (95%CI, 1.00–2.00), respectively. There was an interaction between logGDF15 and poverty status on all-cause mortality (p<0.05). The GDF15×poverty status interaction term improved model calibration for all-cause mortality. Our study provides the first evidence that the effect of elevated GDF15 on all-cause mortality is modified by poverty status.
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Adverse Infant and Maternal Outcomes Among Low-Risk Term Pregnancies Stratified by Race and Ethnicity. Obstet Gynecol 2020; 135:925-934. [DOI: 10.1097/aog.0000000000003730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Corwin E, Dunlop AL, Fernandes J, Li S, Pearce B, Jones DP. Metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with glucocorticoid resistance in pregnant African-American women. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2020; 1-2. [PMID: 33693436 PMCID: PMC7943062 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2020.100001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Glucocorticoid resistance (GR) is associated with exposure to chronic stress and an increased risk of metabolic and inflammatory disorders in both animal and human populations. Studies on ethnic disparities highlight the African-American (AA) population as having a high propensity to both GR and chronic stress exposure. Glucocorticoids and inflammation play a very important role in pregnancy outcome and fetal development. To date, however, the metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with GR during pregnancy have not been identified, obscuring the mechanisms by which adverse health consequences arise, and thus impeding targeted therapeutic intervention. The objective of this study was to perform untargeted high-resolution metabolomics (HRM) profiling on 273 pregnant AA women, to identify metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with GR during the first trimester of pregnancy and to evaluate their cross-sectional association with birth outcomes and psychosocial variables related to chronic stress exposure. For this study, GR was determined by the concentration of dexamethasone required for 50% inhibition (Dex IC50) of the cytokine tumor-necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) release in vitro in response to a standard dose of lipopolysaccharide. The results for Metabolome-Wide Association Studies (MWAS) and pathway enrichment analysis for serum metabolic associations with Dex IC50, showed energy (nicotinamide and TCA cycle), amino acid, and glycosphingolipid metabolism as top altered pathways. Bioinformatic analysis showed that GR, as indicated by elevated Dex IC50 in the pregnant women, was associated with increased inflammatory metabolites, oxidative stress related metabolites, increased demand for functional amino acids to support growth and development, and disruption in energy-related metabolites. If confirmed in future studies, targeting these physiologically significant metabolites and metabolic pathways may lead to future assessment and intervention strategies to prevent inflammatory and metabolic complications observed in pregnant populations. GR is associated with chronic stress and is a risk factor for adverse health outcomes, especially among African Americans. Metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with GR relate to energy production, amino acid metabolism, and inflammation. Findings provide a foundation for future studies investigating risk factors in this health disparity population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anne L Dunlop
- Emory University School of Medicine and School of Nursing, Emory University, United States
| | | | - Shuzhao Li
- School of Medicine, Emory University, United States
| | - Bradley Pearce
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, United States
| | - Dean P Jones
- School of Medicine, Emory University, United States
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Maternal educational attainment and infant mortality in the United States: Does the gradient vary by race/ethnicity and nativity? DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 2019. [DOI: 10.4054/demres.2019.41.25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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COGBURN COURTNEYD. Culture, Race, and Health: Implications for Racial Inequities and Population Health. Milbank Q 2019; 97:736-761. [PMID: 31512293 PMCID: PMC6739606 DOI: 10.1111/1468-0009.12411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Policy Points Racism is a fundamental cause of health inequities and disease, which requires policy solutions that address this cause directly rather than only targeting mechanisms. Cultural systems, such as cultural racism, undergird the social conditions that shape racial inequities in health, including social and health policy decision making, governance, practice, and public reception. Policies targeting racial health equity benefit from integrating social theory and meaningful assessments of the social context concerning race, racism, and health. CONTEXT Improving the health of the total population may be insufficient in eliminating racial disparities in population health. An expanding commitment to understanding social determinants of health aims to address the social conditions that produce racialized patterns in health inequity. There is also a resurging and evolving interest in the influence of cultural barriers and assets in shaping racial inequities in health. The meaning and function of culture, however, remains underspecified. METHODS This paper synthesizes analogous but fragmented concepts of cultural threat related to social and racial inequity as examined in public and population health, psychology, sociology, communications, media studies, and law. It draws on an existing typology of culture and social inequity to organize concepts related to cultural racism. Employing a transdisciplinary approach, the paper integrates multiple scholarly perspectives on cultural threat to frame cultural racism as cultural systems that promote false presumptions of white superiority relative to non-whites. FINDINGS The lack of shared conceptual grounding and language regarding cultural threats to health hinders a more precise identification and measurement of cultural processes as well as comparisons of relative prevalence and influence of pathways linking cultural processes and social inequity. Evaluating intersections among culture, structures, and racism is a valuable analytical tool for understanding the production of social and racial inequities in health. To adequately address health inequities rooted in systemic racism, it is imperative to discuss the function of cultural racism in shaping population health in the United States. CONCLUSIONS Building a culture of health and achieving health equity requires that we assess cultural racism in a more meaningful way. Cultural processes are commonly referenced in health inequity scholarship, but the empirical literature generally lags behind the conceptual emphasis. A rich literature across disciplines has substantively engaged conceptualizations of culture and cultural processes, the importance of these processes as part of a system of racism, and mechanisms that may link cultural threats to health. When integrated, this literature offers essential insights for ways population health may address the complex issue of eradicating racial disparities in health.
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Affiliation(s)
- COURTNEY D. COGBURN
- Columbia University School of Social Work and Columbia Population Research Center
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Koning SM, Ehrenthal DB. Stressor landscapes, birth weight, and prematurity at the intersection of race and income: Elucidating birth contexts through patterned life events. SSM Popul Health 2019; 8:100460. [PMID: 31384659 PMCID: PMC6661410 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Revised: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Women of color and women in poverty experience disproportionately high rates of adverse birth outcomes in the United States (US). We use an intersectionality-based approach to examine how maternal life events (LE's) preceding childbirth are patterned and shape birth outcomes at the intersection of race and income. Using population data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System we uncover common maternal LE clusters preceding births in 2011-2015, offering a description and measurement of what we call "stressor landscapes" that go beyond standard measures by frequency or type alone. Three landscapes emerge: (1) Protected, characterized by very few LE's; (2) Illness/Isolated, with very few LE's and most commonly involving an illness or death of someone close; and (3) Toxic/Cumulative, comprising more frequent and acute LE's. Mothers in the toxic landscape experience on average 107-g lighter birth weights and a 27%, 49%, and 57% greater risk of PTB, LBW, and VLBW, respectively, compared to in the protected landscape. Low-income and non-Hispanic black (NHB), Hispanic, American Indian (AI), and Alaska Native (AN) mothers are among the groups disproportionately exposed to toxic stressor landscapes. The association between landscape and birth outcomes additionally varies by race and income. Among non-Hispanic white mothers, toxic landscapes are linked to poor birth outcomes at lower incomes. Among NHB mothers, illness-related stressors are additionally linked to worse outcomes and stressor landscapes disproportionately harm middle-income mothers. Toxic stressors may contribute to worse outcomes among middle- and high-income Hispanic and AI/AN mothers, but these patterns are less clear. Our study offers a new approach to measuring LE's that match common conceptions of exposure clustering and applies it to US population data to reveal LE patterns underlying persistent social disparities in maternal and child health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie M. Koning
- Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 610 Walnut Street, 707 WARF Building, Madison, WI, 53726, USA
- Present Address: Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, 1810 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Deborah B. Ehrenthal
- Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 610 Walnut Street, 707 WARF Building, Madison, WI, 53726, USA
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Ross KM, Dunkel Schetter C, McLemore MR, Chambers BD, Paynter RA, Baer R, Feuer SK, Flowers E, Karasek D, Pantell M, Prather AA, Ryckman K, Jelliffe-Pawlowski L. Socioeconomic Status, Preeclampsia Risk and Gestational Length in Black and White Women. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2019; 6:1182-1191. [PMID: 31368002 DOI: 10.1007/s40615-019-00619-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Revised: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Higher socioeconomic status (SES) has less impact on cardio-metabolic disease and preterm birth risk among Black women compared to White women, an effect called "diminishing returns." No studies have tested whether this also occurs for pregnancy cardio-metabolic disease, specifically preeclampsia, or whether preeclampsia risk could account for race-by-SES disparities in birth timing. METHODS A sample of 718,604 Black and White women was drawn from a population-based California cohort of singleton births. Education, public health insurance status, gestational length, and preeclampsia diagnosis were extracted from a State-maintained birth cohort database. Age, prenatal care, diabetes diagnosis, smoking during pregnancy, and pre-pregnancy body mass index were covariates. RESULTS In logistic regression models predicting preeclampsia risk, the race-by-SES interaction (for both education and insurance status) was significant. White women were at lower risk for preeclampsia, and higher SES further reduced risk. Black women were at higher risk for preeclampsia, and SES did not attenuate risk. In pathway analyses predicting gestational length, an indirect effect of the race-by-SES interaction was observed. Among White women, higher SES predicted lower preeclampsia risk, which in turn predicted longer gestation. The same was not observed for Black women. CONCLUSIONS Compared to White women, Black women had increased preeclampsia risk. Higher SES attenuated risk for preeclampsia among White women, but not for Black women. Similarly, higher SES indirectly predicted longer gestational length via reduced preeclampsia risk among White women, but not for Black women. These findings are consistent with diminishing returns of higher SES for Black women with respect to preeclampsia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kharah M Ross
- Owerko Centre, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, #355, 3820 24th Ave, Calgary, AB, T3B 2X9, Canada.
| | | | - Monica R McLemore
- Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Brittany D Chambers
- California Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Randi A Paynter
- California Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rebecca Baer
- California Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sky K Feuer
- California Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Elena Flowers
- Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Deborah Karasek
- California Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Matthew Pantell
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Aric A Prather
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kelli Ryckman
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski
- California Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Goisis A, Martinson M, Sigle W. When richer doesn't mean thinner: Ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and the risk of child obesity in the United Kingdom. DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 2019; 41:649-678. [PMID: 33883973 PMCID: PMC8057728 DOI: 10.4054/demres.2019.41.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A range of studies report a robust association between family socioeconomic position and the prevalence of child overweight/obesity. On average, children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to be overweight/obese than children from more advantaged families. However, a small number of US studies have shown that, for ethnic minority children, the association is either nonexistent or reversed. OBJECTIVE We test if the link between socioeconomic position and child overweight/obesity at age 7 is heterogeneous in the United Kingdom where rates of obesity are particularly high for some groups of ethnic minority children. METHODS We use nationally representative data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study as well as descriptive analyses and logistic regression models. RESULTS Poorer White children are at higher risk of overweight/obesity than higher income White children. However, socioeconomic disparities are reversed for Black African/Caribbean children and nonexistent for children of Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi origin. Moreover, the health behaviours that explain socioeconomic disparities in child overweight/obesity for the White group appear to be irrelevant in explaining differences by socioeconomic position for the Black Caribbean and African groups. CONCLUSIONS We should be careful in assuming that higher socioeconomic position is protective against child overweight/obesity for all groups of the population. CONTRIBUTION This study shows for the first time important variation by ethnicity in the link between socioeconomic position and child overweight/obesity - and in the underlying mechanisms linking them - in the United Kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Goisis
- Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK; Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany; Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Department of Social Science, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Melissa Martinson
- Gender Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
| | - Wendy Sigle
- School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
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Negotiating Patient-Provider Power Dynamics in Distinct Childbirth Settings: Insights from Black American Mothers. SOCIETIES 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/soc9020045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Several studies have examined women’s perceptions and experiences of out-of-hospital births, that is, births that take place at home or in birthing centers overseen by midwives. However, White women have primarily been the subject of these investigations. Black women are underrepresented among mothers who have out-of-hospital births, yet they provide an intriguing case for this birthing practice, given their elevated maternal mortality rates and the general rise in home and birth-center births since 2005. This study utilizes a split-sample design to compare the experiences of Black American women who gave birth in out-of-hospital and within-hospital settings in San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio is an excellent site for such an inquiry, as Black women are a decided racial minority in this Latino-dominated city, and often face healthcare access challenges. Drawing on insights from theories of intersectionality and power, this study uses in-depth interviews to explore how patient-provider power asymmetries emerge and are negotiated by Black American mothers who have out-of-hospital births, in contrast to their hospital-birthing peers. Narratives reveal that patient-provider power relations and asymmetries exist both within and outside of hospital settings, but are distinctly manifested in each setting. Out-of-hospital births are more mother-centered, but power machinations are more covert in such settings. Participants employ various forms of resistance to negotiate asymmetrical relationships with providers.
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Abstract
Objectives Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked with ill-health in adulthood, but ACE literature has focused on family disruption or dysfunction (e.g., child abuse, parental separation), with less attention to economic adversity. We examined whether a mother's economic hardship in childhood (EHC) was associated with women's hardships and health-risk behaviors during/just before pregnancy. Methods We analyzed population-based survey data on 27,102 postpartum California women. EHC included respondents' reports that during childhood they/their families experienced hunger because of inability to afford food or moved because of problems paying rent/mortgage and the frequency of difficulty paying for basic needs. We examined six maternal hardships/behaviors during/just before pregnancy, including four hardships (poverty, food insecurity, homelessness/no regular place to sleep, intimate partner violence) and two behaviors (smoking, binge drinking). Prevalence ratios (PRs) were calculated from sequential logistic regression models estimating associations between EHC (categorized by level of hardship) and each maternal hardship/behavior, first without adjustment, then adjusting for other childhood and current maternal factors, and finally adding family disruption/dysfunction. Results Before adjustment for family disruption/dysfunction, the highest and intermediate EHC levels were associated with each maternal hardship/behavior; after full adjustment, those associations persisted except with smoking. Higher EHC levels generally appeared associated with larger PRs, although confidence intervals overlapped. Conclusions for Policy/Practice These findings link childhood economic hardship with women's hardships, binge drinking, and possibly smoking around the time of pregnancy. Without establishing causality, they support previous research indicating that childhood economic adversity should be considered an ACE.
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Collins JW, Mariani A, Rankin K. African-American women's Upward Economic Mobility and Small for Gestational Age Births: A Population-Based Study. Matern Child Health J 2019; 22:1183-1189. [PMID: 29492738 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-018-2503-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Background The relationship between African-American women's upward economic mobility and small for gestational age (weight for gestational < 10th percentile, SGA) rates is incompletely understood. Objective To ascertain the extent to which African-American women's upward economic mobility from early-life impoverishment is coupled with reduced SGA rates. Methods Stratified and multilevel logistic regression analyses were completed on the Illinois transgenerational dataset of African-American infants (1989-1991) and their Chicago-born mothers (1956-1976) with linked U.S. census income information. Results Impoverished-born (defined as lowest quartile of neighborhood income distribution) African-American women (n = 4891) who remained impoverished by the time of delivery had a SGA rate of 19.7%. Individuals who achieved low (n = 5827), modest (n = 2254), or high (n = 732) upward economic mobility by adulthood had lower SGA rates of 17.2, 14.8, and 13.7%, respectively; RR = 0.9 (0.8-0.9), 0.8 (0.7-0.8), and 0.7 (0.6-0.8), respectively. In adjusted (controlling for traditional individual-level risk factors) multilevel regression models, there was a decreasing linear trend in SGA rates with increasing levels of upward economic mobility; the adjusted RR of SGA birth for impoverished-born African-American women who experienced low, modest, of high (compared to no) upward mobility equaled 0.95 (0.91, 0.99), 0.90 (0.83, 0.98), and 0.86 (0.75, 0.98), respectively, p < 0.05. Conclusions African-American women's upward economic mobility from early-life residence in poor urban communities is associated with lower SGA rates independent of adulthood risk status.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Collins
- Division of Neonatology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Ave #45, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
| | - Allison Mariani
- Division of Neonatology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, 225 E. Chicago Ave #45, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Kristin Rankin
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Illinois School of Public Health, Chicago, USA
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Fleischer NL, Abshire C, Margerison CE, Nitcheva D, Smith MG. The South Carolina Multigenerational Linked Birth Dataset: Developing Social Mobility Measures Across Generations to Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Adverse Birth Outcomes in the US South. Matern Child Health J 2018; 23:787-801. [PMID: 30569299 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-018-02695-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Objectives To describe the creation of a multigenerational linked dataset with social mobility measures for South Carolina (SC), as an example for states in the South and other areas of the country. Methods Using unique identifiers, we linked birth certificates along the maternal line using SC birth certificate data from 1989 to 2014, and compared the subset of records for which linking was possible with two comparison groups on sociodemographic and birth outcome measures. We created four multi-generational social mobility measures using maternal education, paternal education, presence of paternal information, and a summary score incorporating the prior three measures plus payment source for births after 2004. We compared social mobility measures by race/ethnicity. Results Of the 1,366,288 singleton birth certificates in SC from 1989 to 2014, we linked 103,194, resulting in 61,229 unique three-generation units. Mothers and fathers were younger and had lower education, and low birth weight was more common, in the multigenerational linked dataset than in the two comparison groups. Based on the social mobility summary score, only 6.3% of White families were always disadvantaged, compared to 30.4% of Black families and 13.2% of Hispanic families. Moreover, 32.8% of White families were upwardly mobile and 39.1% of Black families were upwardly mobile, but only 29.9% of Hispanic families were upwardly mobile. Conclusions for Practice When states are able to link individuals, birth certificate data may be an excellent source for examining population-level relationships between social mobility and adverse birth outcomes. Due to its location in the Deep South, the multigenerational SC dataset may be particularly useful for understanding racial/ethnic difference in social mobility and birth outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy L Fleischer
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Chelsea Abshire
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Claire E Margerison
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Daniela Nitcheva
- Division of Biostatistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Michael G Smith
- Department of Health Services Management and Policy, College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA
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Tian Y, Holzman C, Slaughter-Acey J, Margerison-Zilko C, Luo Z, Todem D. Maternal Socioeconomic Mobility and Preterm Delivery: A Latent Class Analysis. Matern Child Health J 2018; 22:1647-1658. [PMID: 29959600 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-018-2562-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Objective Growing evidence suggests that maternal socioeconomic mobility (SM) is associated with pregnancy outcomes. Our study investigated the association between maternal SM from childhood to adulthood and the risk of preterm delivery (PTD), and examined heterogeneity of associations by race/ethnicity. Methods In this study, 3019 pregnant women enrolled from 5 Michigan communities at 16-27 weeks' gestation (1998-2004) provided their parents' socioeconomic position (SEP) indicators (education, occupation, receipt of public assistance) and their own and child's father's SEP indicators (education, occupation, Medicaid status, and household income) at the time of enrollment. Latent class analysis was used to identify latent classes of childhood SEP indicators, adulthood SEP indicators, and SM from childhood to adulthood, respectively. A model-based approach to latent class analysis with distal outcome assessed relations between latent class and PTD, overall and within race/ethnicity groups. Results Three latent classes (low, middle, high) were identified for childhood SEP indicators and adulthood SEP indicators, respectively; while four latent classes (static low, upward, downward, and static high) best described SM. Women with upward SM had decreased odds of PTD (Odds ratio = 0.60, 95% confidence interval: 0.42, 0.87), compared to those with static low SEP. This SM advantage was true for all women and most pronounced in white/others women. Conclusions Maternal experiences of upward SM may be important considerations when assessing PTD risk. Our results support the argument that policies and programs aimed at improving women's SEP could lower PTD rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Tian
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, 909 Fee Road Room B601, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
| | - Claudia Holzman
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, 909 Fee Road Room B601, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
| | - Jaime Slaughter-Acey
- College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, 245 N 15th St, Mailstop 501, Philadelphia, PA, 19102, USA
| | - Claire Margerison-Zilko
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, 909 Fee Road Room B601, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
| | - Zhehui Luo
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, 909 Fee Road Room B601, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
| | - David Todem
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, 909 Fee Road Room B601, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
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Pearl M, Ahern J, Hubbard A, Laraia B, Shrimali BP, Poon V, Kharrazi M. Life-course neighbourhood opportunity and racial-ethnic disparities in risk of preterm birth. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2018; 32:412-419. [PMID: 30011354 DOI: 10.1111/ppe.12482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neighbourhood opportunity, measured by poverty, income and deprivation, has been associated with preterm birth, however little is known about the contribution of early-life and life-course neighbourhood opportunity to preterm birth risk and racial-ethnic disparities. We examined maternal early-life and adult neighbourhood opportunity in relation to risk of preterm birth and racial-ethnic disparities in a population-based cohort of women under age 30. METHODS We linked census tract poverty data to 2 generations of California births from 1982-2011 for 403 315 white, black, or Latina mothers-infant pairs. We estimated the risk of preterm birth, and risk difference (RD) comparing low opportunity (≥20% poverty) in early life or adulthood to high opportunity using targeted maximum likelihood estimation. RESULTS At each time point, low opportunity was related to increased preterm birth risk compared to higher opportunity neighbourhoods for white, black and Latina mothers (RDs 0.3-0.7%). Compared to high opportunity at both time points, risk differences were generally highest for sustained low opportunity (RD 1.5, 1.3, and 0.7% for white, black and Latina mothers, respectively); risk was elevated with downward mobility (RD 0.7, 1.3, and 0.4% for white, black and Latina mothers, respectively), and with upward mobility only among black mothers (RD 1.2%). The black-white preterm birth disparity was reduced by 22% under high life-course opportunity. CONCLUSIONS Early-life and sustained exposure to residential poverty is related to increased PTB risk, particularly among black women, and may partially explain persistent black-white disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Pearl
- Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer Ahern
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Alan Hubbard
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Barbara Laraia
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Bina Patel Shrimali
- Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA.,Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Martin Kharrazi
- Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Lu
- Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
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Colen CG, Krueger PM, Boettner BL. Do rising tides lift all boats? Racial disparities in health across the lifecourse among middle-class African-Americans and Whites. SSM Popul Health 2018; 6:125-135. [PMID: 30258971 PMCID: PMC6153271 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2018.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Although racial inequalities in health are well documented, much less is known about the underlying mechanisms that create and sustain these population patterns, especially among nonpoor subgroups. Using 20 waves of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we estimate the magnitude of the Black/White gap in self-rated health among middle-income, working-age (18–65) adults and explore potential sources of this disparity. Findings from multilevel regression models suggest that intragenerational gains in family income result in significantly smaller improvements in self-rated health for middle-class African-Americans than similarly situated Whites. We also note that childhood disadvantage predicts subsequent health trajectories in adulthood, but does little to explain the Black/White gap in the association between family income and self-rated health. We conclude that middle-class status provides restricted health returns to upward mobility for African-Americans and this differential relationship cannot be accounted for by greater exposure to early life disadvantage. We use 20 waves of data to investigate lifecourse fluctuations in health among middle-class Americans. Results suggest intragenerational mobility is associated with nonequivalent health outcomes across race. For Whites, a 10% increase in family income over time reduces the odds of being in fair/poor health by 9.7%. For Blacks, similar increases in family income resulted in significantly smaller reductions in the odds of fair or poor health. This racial disparity cannot be explained by differential exposure to childhood socioeconomic disadvantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia G Colen
- Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, 238 Townshend Hall, 1885 Neil Ave. Mall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Patrick M Krueger
- Department of Health & Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado, Denver, USA
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Loggins Clay S, Griffin M, Averhart W. Black/White disparities in pregnant women in the United States: An examination of risk factors associated with Black/White racial identity. HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY 2018; 26:654-663. [PMID: 29488271 DOI: 10.1111/hsc.12565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/24/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This paper explores racial disparities and risk factors of adverse pregnancy outcomes in Black and White pregnant women in the US. The study uses a cross-sectional approach to explore Black and White disparities using data from the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which collects interview data from approximately 70,000 randomly selected participants. We included several self-reported conditions that we categorised as individual and social stressors (e.g. measures of institutionalised racism, individual health behaviours, access to quality care and social context factors). We used descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analyses in risk factors of adverse pregnancy outcomes between Black and White women. Black women who were pregnant had a lower socioeconomic status and experienced more measures of institutionalised racism compared to White women who were pregnant. More white women who were pregnant were married, had higher levels of educational attainment, higher income levels, and greater employment opportunities. White pregnant women also had higher levels of private health insurance and less dependency on government programmes for access to healthcare. Results from the regressions indicated that Black pregnant women were less likely to be married (OR = 0.01), less likely to have higher income levels (OR = 0.31) and less likely to be employed (OR = 0.52). However, Black pregnant women were more likely to be younger (OR = 1.82). For the health-eroding behaviours, Black pregnant women were less likely to smoke (OR = 0.53) and use alcohol (0.52). After assessing the SES Household-level stressors (access to healthcare), Black pregnant women were more likely to have Medicaid/CHIP (OR = 3.21) and health coverage through government assistant programmes (OR = 3.80); however, less likely to have private health insurance (OR = 0.38). There are differences in risk factors of adverse pregnancy outcomes between White and Black pregnant women based on measures of individual level/social stressors, institutionalised racism, health behaviours and access to care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shondra Loggins Clay
- Counseling Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Marquianna Griffin
- Chapin Hall Center for Children, Data and Research Technology Liason, Oak Park, IL, USA
| | - Wanda Averhart
- Department of Pediatrics' General Pediatrics Division, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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Colen CG, Ramey DM, Cooksey EC, Williams DR. Racial disparities in health among nonpoor African Americans and Hispanics: The role of acute and chronic discrimination. Soc Sci Med 2018; 199:167-180. [PMID: 28571900 PMCID: PMC5673593 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.04.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2016] [Revised: 04/25/2017] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Racial disparities in health tend to be more pronounced at the upper ends of the socioeconomic (SES) spectrum. Despite having access to above average social and economic resources, nonpoor African Americans and Latinos report significantly worse health compared to nonpoor Whites. We combine data from the parents and children of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to address two specific research aims. First, we generate longitudinal SES trajectories over a 33-year period to estimate the extent to which socioeconomic mobility is associated with exposure to discrimination (acute and chronic) across different racial/ethnic groups (nonHispanic Whites, nonHispanic Blacks, and Hispanics). Then we determine if the disparate relationship between SES and self-rated health across these groups can be accounted for by more frequent exposure to unfair treatment. For Whites, moderate income gains over time result in significantly less exposure to both acute and chronic discrimination. Upwardly mobile African Americans and Hispanics, however, were significantly more likely to experience acute and chronic discrimination, respectively, than their socioeconomically stable counterparts. We also find that differential exposure to unfair treatment explains a substantial proportion of the Black/White, but not the Hispanic/White, gap in self-rated health among this nationally representative sample of upwardly mobile young adults. The current study adds to the debate that the shape of the SES/health gradient differs, in important ways, across race and provides empirical support for the diminishing health returns hypothesis for racial/ethnic minorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia G Colen
- Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, United States
| | - David M Ramey
- Department of Sociology & Criminology, Penn State University, United States
| | - Elizabeth C Cooksey
- Department of Sociology, Center for Human Resource Research, Ohio State University, United States
| | - David R Williams
- Florence Sprague Norman & Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health, Harvard University, United States
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Hicken MT, Kravitz-Wirtz N, Durkee M, Jackson JS. Racial inequalities in health: Framing future research. Soc Sci Med 2018; 199:11-18. [PMID: 29325781 PMCID: PMC5915332 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Margaret T Hicken
- Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, United States.
| | - Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Davis, United States
| | - Myles Durkee
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, United States
| | - James S Jackson
- Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, United States
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College completion predicts lower depression but higher metabolic syndrome among disadvantaged minorities in young adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 115:109-114. [PMID: 29255040 PMCID: PMC5776811 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1714616114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
College graduates enjoy healthier, longer lives compared with individuals who do not graduate from college. However, the health benefit of educational attainment is not as great for blacks as it is for whites. Moreover, college completion may not erase the detrimental effects of early-life disadvantage for blacks and Hispanics. We use nationally representative data on young adults to test whether American minorities experience differential returns to educational attainment. We find that college completion predicts lower rates of depression for all racial groups. It also predicts lower metabolic syndrome among whites. However, college completion predicts higher metabolic syndrome among black and Hispanic adults from disadvantaged backgrounds, suggesting upward mobility may come at a health cost to young minorities in America. Individuals with higher educational attainment live healthier and longer lives. However, not everyone benefits equally from higher education. In particular, the black–white gap in life expectancy is greater at higher levels of educational attainment. Furthermore, recent research suggests that disadvantaged African Americans in the rural Southeast who attend college have worse physical health than their similarly disadvantaged peers who do not attend college. The extent to which this pattern generalizes to a nationally representative, mixed-race sample is unknown. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we test whether the health benefits associated with college completion vary by level of childhood disadvantage for depression and metabolic syndrome in young adulthood, across race/ethnicity. We find uniform lower depression associated with college completion regardless of childhood disadvantage, and across non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic young adults. College completion is associated with lower metabolic syndrome for whites across all levels of childhood disadvantage. In contrast, college completion is associated with higher metabolic syndrome among black and Hispanic young adults from disadvantaged childhood environments. Our findings suggest that, for minorities from disadvantaged backgrounds, finishing college pays substantial dividends for mental health but simultaneously exacts costs with regard to physical health. This pattern contrasts starkly with whites and minorities from more privileged backgrounds, for whom college completion is associated with benefits to both mental and physical health. These results suggest that racial disparities in health may persist in part because the health of upwardly mobile minorities is compromised in young adulthood.
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Chambers BD, Erausquin JT, Tanner AE, Nichols TR, Brown-Jeffy S. Testing the Association Between Traditional and Novel Indicators of County-Level Structural Racism and Birth Outcomes among Black and White Women. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2017; 5:966-977. [PMID: 29218496 DOI: 10.1007/s40615-017-0444-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2017] [Revised: 10/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Despite decreases in infants born premature and at low birth weight in the United States (U.S.), racial disparities between Black and White women continue. In response, the purpose of this analysis was to examine associations between both traditional and novel indicators of county-level structural racism and birth outcomes among Black and White women. We merged individual-level data from the California Birth Statistical Master Files 2009-2013 with county-level data from the United States (U.S.) Census American Community Survey. We used hierarchical linear modeling to examine Black-White differences among 531,170 primiparous women across 33 California counties. Traditional (e.g., dissimilarity index) and novel indicators (e.g., Black to White ratio in elected office) were associated with earlier gestational age and lower birth weight among Black and White women. A traditional indicator was more strongly associated with earlier gestational age for Black women than for White women. This was the first study to empirically demonstrate that structural racism, measured by both traditional and novel indicators, is associated with poor health and wellbeing of infants born to Black and White women. However, findings indicate traditional indicators of structural racism, rather than novel indicators, better explain racial disparities in birth outcomes. Results also suggest the need to develop more innovative approaches to: (1) measure structural racism at the county-level and (2) reform public policies to increase integration and access to resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany D Chambers
- UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative- California, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Jennifer Toller Erausquin
- Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | - Amanda E Tanner
- Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | - Tracy R Nichols
- Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | - Shelly Brown-Jeffy
- Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
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Braveman P, Heck K, Egerter S, Dominguez TP, Rinki C, Marchi KS, Curtis M. Worry about racial discrimination: A missing piece of the puzzle of Black-White disparities in preterm birth? PLoS One 2017; 12:e0186151. [PMID: 29020025 PMCID: PMC5636124 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The causes of the large and persistent Black-White disparity in preterm birth (PTB) are unknown. It is biologically plausible that chronic stress across a woman's life course could be a contributor. Prior research suggests that chronic worry about experiencing racial discrimination could affect PTB through neuroendocrine, vascular, or immune mechanisms involved in both responses to stress and the initiation of labor. This study aimed to examine the role of chronic worry about racial discrimination in Black-White disparities in PTB. METHODS The data source was cross-sectional California statewide-representative surveys of 2,201 Black and 8,122 White, non-Latino, U.S.-born postpartum women with singleton live births during 2011-2014. Chronic worry about racial discrimination (chronic worry) was defined as responses of "very often" or "somewhat often" (vs. "not very often" or "never") to the question: "Overall during your life until now, how often have you worried that you might be treated or viewed unfairly because of your race or ethnic group?" Prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated from sequential logistic regression models, before and after adjustment for multiple social/demographic, behavioral, and medical factors, to estimate the magnitude of: (a) PTB risks associated with chronic worry among Black women and among White women; and (b) Black-White disparities in PTB, before and after adjustment for chronic worry. RESULTS Among Black and White women respectively, 36.9 (95% CI 32.9-40.9) % and 5.5 (95% CI 4.5-6.5) % reported chronic worry about racial discrimination; rates were highest among Black women of higher income and education levels. Chronic worry was significantly associated with PTB among Black women before (PR 1.73, 95% CI 1.12-2.67) and after (PR 2.00, 95% CI 1.33-3.01) adjustment for covariates. The unadjusted Black-White disparity in PTB (PR 1.59, 95%CI 1.21-2.09) appeared attenuated and became non-significant after adjustment for chronic worry (PR 1.30, 95% CI 0.93-1.81); it appeared further attenuated after adding the covariates (PR 1.17, 95% CI 0.85-1.63). CONCLUSIONS Chronic worry about racial discrimination may play an important role in Black-White disparities in PTB and may help explain the puzzling and repeatedly observed greater PTB disparities among more socioeconomically-advantaged women. Although the single measure of experiences of racial discrimination used in this study precluded examination of the role of other experiences of racial discrimination, such as overt incidents, it is likely that our findings reflect an association between one or more experiences of racial discrimination and PTB. Further research should examine a range of experiences of racial discrimination, including not only chronic worry but other psychological and emotional states and both subtle and overt incidents as well. These dramatic results from a large statewide-representative study add to a growing-but not widely known-literature linking racism-related stress with physical health in general, and shed light on the links between racism-related stress and PTB specifically. Without being causally definitive, this study's findings should stimulate further research and heighten awareness of the potential role of unmeasured social variables, such as diverse experiences of racial discrimination, in racial disparities in health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Braveman
- Department of Family and Community Medicine and Center on Social Disparities in Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Katherine Heck
- Department of Family and Community Medicine and Center on Social Disparities in Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Susan Egerter
- Department of Family and Community Medicine and Center on Social Disparities in Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Tyan Parker Dominguez
- School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Christine Rinki
- California Department of Public Health, Maternal Child, and Adolescent Health Division, Sacramento, CA, United States of America
| | - Kristen S. Marchi
- Department of Family and Community Medicine and Center on Social Disparities in Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Michael Curtis
- California Department of Public Health, Maternal Child, and Adolescent Health Division, Sacramento, CA, United States of America
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