Health contextualized: Differences in physiological function at the intersection of race, skin color, and place

Citation

Hargrove, Taylor Woodland (2018). Health contextualized: Differences in physiological function at the intersection of race, skin color, and place. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America. Denver, CO.

Abstract

This study addresses two research questions critical to understanding racial inequalities in health: 1) how do multiple dimensions of racial identification (self-identification and socially-assigned skin tone) differentially shape inequalities in cardiometabolic risk (CMR)? 2) Do the consequences of race and skin color on CMR differ by neighborhood racial context? Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, findings suggest that inter- and intra-group dynamics differentially influence cardiometabolic functioning among whites and African Americans of different skin tones. More specifically, living in predominantly black neighborhoods is associated with decreased CMR among medium-skinned blacks, yet increased CMR among whites and light- and dark-skinned African Americans. Furthermore, living in predominantly white neighborhoods is linked to increased CMR among darker-skinned African Americans only. Findings shed light on the impacts of broader racial contexts and help elucidate how macro-level environments shape linkages among race, skin color, and health.

URL

https://paa.confex.com/paa/2018/webprogrampreliminary/Paper23259.html

Keyword(s)

physiological function race ethnicity skin color cardiometabolic risk CMR neighborhood

Reference Type

Conference proceeding

Book Title

Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America

Series Title

Contextual influences on health

Author(s)

Hargrove, Taylor Woodland

Year Published

2018

City of Publication

Denver, CO

Reference ID

8355