The Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Allostatic Load in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study

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dc.contributor.authorCuevas, Adolfo
dc.contributor.authorWang, Kaipeng
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, David R.
dc.contributor.authorMattei, Josiemer
dc.contributor.authorTucker, Katherine L.
dc.contributor.authorFalcon, Luis M.
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-04T15:13:18Z
dc.date.available2020-09-04T15:13:18Z
dc.date.issued2019-09
dc.description.abstractObjective: Perceived discrimination is a risk factor for poor health among ethnic and racial minority groups. However, few studies have examined the association between major lifetime and everyday perceived discrimination and allostatic load (AL), a preclinical indicator of disease. We examine the association between two measures of discrimination and AL among Puerto Rican adults. Methods: Using primarily wave 3 data from the longitudinal Boston Puerto Rican Health Study, we examined the association between major lifetime and everyday perceived discrimination and AL (multisystem dysregulation of 11 physiological components) among Puerto Rican adults residing in the Boston metro area (N = 882). Five models were tested using multivariable regression. The final model adjusted for demographic factors, migration factors, socioeconomic status and work history, health behaviors/risk factors, and depressive symptom. Results: Respondents had a M (SD) AL score of 5.11 (1.76; range = 0-11). They had an average score of 0.21 (0.42) for major lifetime perceived discrimination (0-3) and 0.29 (0.49) for everyday perceived discrimination (0-3). In a fully adjusted model, major lifetime perceived discrimination was associated with greater AL (b = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.92), whereas greater everyday perceived discrimination was marginally, but not significantly, associated with lower AL (b = -0.42; 95% CI = -0.87 to 0.04). Conclusions: Perceived discrimination remains a common stressor and may be a determinant of AL for Puerto Ricans, although the type of perceived discrimination may have differing effects. Further research is needed to better understand the ways in which major lifetime and everyday perceived discrimination operate to effect physiological systems among Puerto Ricans.
dc.description.departmentSocial Work
dc.description.versionThis is the author accepted manuscript version of an article published in Psychosomatic Medicine.
dc.formatText
dc.format.extent20 pages
dc.format.medium1 file (.pdf)
dc.identifier.citationCuevas, A. G., Wang, K., Williams, D. R., Mattei, J., Tucker, K. L., & Falcon, L. M. (2019). The association between perceived discrimination and allostatic load in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 81(7), pp. 659–667.
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000715
dc.identifier.issn0033-3174
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/12537
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherAmerican Psychosomatic Society
dc.sourcePsychosomatic Medicine, 2019, Vol. 81, No. 7, pp. 659-667.
dc.subjectdiscrimination
dc.subjectdysregulation
dc.subjectPuerto Ricans
dc.subjectallostatic load
dc.subjectSocial Work
dc.titleThe Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Allostatic Load in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study
dc.typeArticle

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