The color of death: race, observed skin tone, and all-cause mortality in the United States.

Objective: This paper examines how mortality covaries with observed skin tone among blacks and in relation to whites. Additionally, the study analyzes the extent to which social factors such as socioeconomic status affect this relationship. Design: This study uses data from the 1982 General Social Survey (N = 1,689) data linked to the National Death Index until 2008. We use this data to examine the links between race, observed skin tone among blacks, and all-cause mortality. Piecewise exponential hazard modeling was used to estimate disparities in skin tone mortality among blacks, and relative to whites. The multivariate models control for age, education, gender, region, metropolitan statistical area, marital status, labor force status, and household income. Results: Observed skin tone is a significant determinant of mortality among blacks and in relation to whites. Light skinned blacks had the lowest mortality hazards among blacks, while respondents with medium and dark brown skin experienced significantly higher mortality. The observed skin tone mortality disparities covaried with education; there are significant mortality disparities across observed skin tone groups among black respondents with high school or more education, and nonsignificant disparities among those with less education. Conclusion: It is crucial to identify the social processes driving racial disparities in health and mortality. The findings reveal that the nuanced social experiences of blacks with different observed skin tones markedly change the experience of racial inequality. Research on the nuanced social processes and biological mechanisms that connect differences in observed skin tone to mortality outcomes promises to better illuminate the experience of racial inequality and policy mechanisms we can use to undermine it.

Exceptional Outgroup Stereotypes and White Racial Inequality Attitudes toward Asian Americans.

Stereotypes of outgroups help create social identificational boundaries for ingroups. When the ingroup is dominant, members employ individualist sentiments to justify their status. In this study, we build on advances in social psychological research that account for multiple outgroup stereotypes. We argue the Asian American model minority stereotype is analogous to the "cold but competent" position of perceptions toward Asians in Fiske's stereotype content model. Asian Americans are perceived to be exceptional to other minority groups, and we hypothesize that perceived competence is associated with individualist sentiments directed at Blacks and Latinos. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen, we find support for our hypotheses but find that perceived coldness has no relationship to individualist sentiments. We discuss the implications and directions for further research.

United by Faith? Race/Ethnicity, Congregational Diversity, and Explanations of Racial Inequality.

This study examines the extent to which the racial composition of a congregation moderates explanations for Black/White inequality among White, Black, and Hispanic congregants. Using nationally representative data from General Social Surveys and National Congregations Studies, we find that religiously affiliated Blacks and Hispanics tend to hold different racial attitudes than religiously affiliated Whites, but these differences largely disappear inside multiracial congregations. Importantly, we find that attending a multiracial congregation is unassociated with Whites' explanations for racial inequality, and Blacks who attend multiracial congregations are actually less likely to affirm structural explanations for Black/White inequality than Blacks in nonmultiracial congregations or Whites in multiracial congregations. We find little evidence that multiracial congregations promote progressive racial views among attendees of any race or ethnicity. Rather, our findings suggest that multiracial congregations (1) leave dominant White racial frames unchallenged, potentially influencing minority attendees to embrace such frames and/or (2) attract racial minorities who are more likely to embrace those frames in the first place.

Are Interracial Couples at Higher Risk of Multiple Chronic Conditions? Evidence from a Nationally Representative Sample.

Interracial relationships are becoming increasingly common in the United States, yet the physical health status of individuals in interracial relationships is not well understood. Using 18 years of pooled data from the National Health Interview Study (2001-2018) (N = 264, 891), we compared the odds of having multiple chronic conditions (MCC) among adults in interracial and same-race unions. We anticipate that individuals in interracial relationships may be at higher risk of MCC than individuals in same-race relationships due to increased exposure to stressors associated with crossing racial boundaries. Findings indicate that the implications of interracial relationships on MCC depended on the racial composition of the couple. We found that White-Black couples had higher odds of MCC than both White-White and Black-Black couples, but Asian-Black and Hispanic-Black couples did not differ from their same-race couple counterparts, indicating a pronounced and unique health disadvantage for White adults paired with Black adults. We also found that Asian-White and Hispanic-White couples had higher odds of MCC relative to their same-race counterparts. In addition, minority-minority couples generally did not differ from their same-race minority couple counterparts in terms of MCC. The results of the study provide new insights into how the racial composition of interracial unions impacts health and how a closer proximity to Whiteness may be a health risk for some minority groups.

Attributions for Everyday Discrimination and All-Cause Mortality Risk Among Older Black Women: A Latent Class Analysis Approach.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship between number of attributed reasons for everyday discrimination and all-cause mortality risk, developed latent classes of discrimination attribution, and assessed whether these latent classes were related to all-cause mortality risk among U.S. older Black women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD: Participants were from the 2006 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 1,133; 335 deaths). Vital status was collected through the National Death Index through 2013 and key informant reports through 2019. Latent class analyses were conducted on discrimination attributions. Weighted Cox proportional hazards model was used to predict all-cause mortality. Analyses controlled for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and health. RESULTS: Reporting greater attributions for everyday discrimination was associated with higher mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.117; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.038-1.202; p < .01), controlling for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and health as well as health behaviors. A 4-class solution of the latent class analysis specified the following attribution classes: No/Low Attribution; Ancestry/Gender/Race/Age; Age/Physical Disability; High on All Attributions. When compared to the No/Low Attribution class, membership in the High on All Attributions class was associated with greater mortality risk (HR = 2.809; CI: 1.458-5.412; p < .01). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings underscore the importance of everyday discrimination experiences from multiple sources in shaping all-cause mortality risk among older Black women. Accordingly, this study problematizes the homogenization of Black women in aging research and suggests the need for health interventions that consider Black women's multiplicity of social statuses.

Race-shifting in the United States: Latinxs, Skin Tone, and Ethnoracial Alignments.

In the study, we engage the question of racial "fluidity" by examining patterns of ethnoracial identification in adolescence and, importantly, shifts in ethnoracial identification between adolescence and adulthood using two waves of data from a nationally representative, longitudinal study of adolescents who were in Grades 7 to 12 during the 1994 to 1995 school year. Our theoretical framework draws from social identity theory and brings together bodies of research in race and immigration to make a case for the importance of phenotype, ancestry, and sociocultural elements as potential mechanisms for patterns among Latinx youth, as shifts in ethnoracial identification are predominantly a Latinx phenomenon. The bulk of the findings suggest that both phenotype and immigration are important factors for ethnoracial self-identification among Latinx youth, as well as shifts in their ethnoracial identification in young adulthood. Given what we know about ethnoracial categorization and ascription, findings suggest that, overall, shifts in ethnoracial identification among Latinx youth are primarily about bringing their self-identification into alignment with how they think they tend to be (and most likely are) perceived by others, which we suggest represents a Sedimentation of the Color Line. We close by discussing the myriad implications of our findings for the U.S. racial order and the ongoing debate about how to "measure" the Latinx population.

Attribution for everyday discrimination typologies and mortality risk among older black adults: Evidence from the health and retirement study?

BACKGROUND: The present study assessed how attributions of everyday discrimination typologies relate to all-cause mortality risk among older Black adults. METHODS: This study utilized data from a subsample of older Black adults from the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Attributions for everyday discrimination (i.e., ancestry, age, gender, race, physical appearance, physical disability, sexual orientation, weight, and other factors) were based on self-reports, while their vital statuses were obtained from the National Death Index and reports from key informants (spanning 2006-2019). We applied latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups of older Black adults based on their attributions to everyday discrimination. Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze time to death as a function of LCA group membership and other covariates. RESULTS: Based on fit statistics, we selected a four-class model that places respondents into one of the following classes: Class One (7%) attributed everyday discrimination to age, race, and physical disability; Class Two (72%) attributed everyday discrimination to few/no sources, Class Three (19%) attributed everyday discrimination to race and national origin; and Class Four (2%) attributed everyday discrimination to almost every reason. After adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioral, multisystem physiological dysregulation, and socioeconomic characteristics, we found that the relative risk of death remained higher for the respondents in Class One (Hazard Ratio [H.R.]: 1.80, 95% Confidence Interval [C.I.]: (1.09-2.98) and Class Four (H.R.: 3.92, 95% C.I.: 1.62-9.49) compared to respondents in Class Two. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings illustrate the utility of using attribution for everyday discrimination typologies in research on the psychosocial dimensions of mortality risk among older Black adults. Future research should assess the mechanisms that undergird the link between everyday discrimination classes and all-cause mortality risk among older Black adults.

The Relationship between Religion, Substance Misuse, and Mental Health among Black Youth.

Studies suggest that religion is a protective factor for substance misuse and mental health concerns among Black/African American youth despite reported declines in their religious involvement. However, few studies have investigated the associations among religion, substance misuse, and mental health among Black youth. Informed by Critical Race Theory, we evaluated the correlations between gender, depression, substance misuse, and unprotected sex on mental health. Using multiple linear regression, we assessed self-reported measures of drug use and sex, condom use, belief in God, and religiosity on mental health among a sample of Black youth (N = 638) living in a large midwestern city. Results indicated drug use, and sex while on drugs and alcohol, were significant and positively associated with mental health symptoms. Belief in God was negatively associated with having sex while on drugs and alcohol. The study's findings suggest that despite the many structural inequalities that Black youth face, religion continues to be protective for Black youth against a myriad of prevalent problem behaviors.

COVID-19 hardships and self-reported sleep quality among American adults in March and April 2020: Results from a nationally representative panel study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hardships and self-reported sleep troubles in a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. DESIGN: Prospective study in March and April 2020. SETTING: Population-based. PARTICIPANTS: About 8130 respondents who participated in the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel in March and April of 2020. MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported sleep troubles were defined as a report of 3 or more days per week with trouble sleeping in March and April (separately). Respondents were asked about COVID-19 stressors such as COVID-19 Threat and COVID-19-specific hardships including pay cuts/hours reductions, job loss, and childcare difficulties. Logistic regression models were fit to test associations between COVID-19 hardships and sleep troubles adjusted for sociodemographic covariates (age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, marital status, nativity, education, income, health insurance, and past diagnosis of mental health problems). RESULTS: Reported sleep troubles increased from March (29.0%) to April (31.4%). For March, we found that COVID threat, losing a job, getting a pay cut, and difficulty with childcare were separately associated with sleep troubles. In April, COVID-19 threat and difficulty with childcare, but not losing a job or getting a pay cut were associated with sleep troubles even after additionally accounting for reported sleep troubles in March. CONCLUSIONS: We found that COVID-19-specific stressors, especially a broad measure of COVID-19 Threat and stress over childcare, were associated with sleep troubles in March and April. These findings identified novel stressors related to COVID-19, which may affect the sleep of the American population.

Multiple Reasons for Perceived Everyday Discrimination and All-Cause Mortality Risk Among Older Black Adults.

BACKGROUND: This study assessed whether reporting multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination was associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality risk among older Black adults. METHODS: This study utilized data from a subsample of older Black adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative panel study of older adults in the United States. Our measure of multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination was based on self-reports from the 2006/2008 HRS waves. Respondents' vital status was obtained from the National Death Index and reports from key household informants (spanning 2006-2019). Cox proportional hazard models, which accounted for covariates linked to mortality, were used to estimate the risk of all-cause mortality. RESULTS: During the observation period, 563 deaths occurred. Twenty percent of Black adults attributed perceived everyday discrimination to 3 or more sources. In demographic adjusted models, attributing perceived everyday discrimination to 3 or more sources was a statistically significant predictor of all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratio = 1.45; 95% confidence interval = 1.12-1.87). The association remained significant (hazard ratio = 1.49; 95% confidence interval = 1.15-1.93) after further adjustments for health, behavioral, and economic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Examining how multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination relate to all-cause mortality risk has considerable utility in clarifying the unique contributions of perceived discrimination to mortality risk among older Black adults. Our findings suggest that multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination are a particularly salient risk factor for mortality among older Black adults.

Romantic Relationship Status, Quality, and Depressive Symptoms Among Middle-Aged and Older Black Women.

OBJECTIVES: Past research has established a link between romantic relationships and depressive symptoms among adults, including those in later life. There is, however, still a lack of evidence regarding whether romantic relationship status or relationship quality is a better predictor of psychological well-being among middle-aged and older Black adult women. METHODS: The present study draws on data from the Family and Community Health Study, a multisite, longitudinal survey of health and psychosocial experiences of Black families, to examine how relationship status and quality relate to depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Black adult women (N = 571). A series of negative binomial regression models, with 95% confidence intervals and internal moderators, were used to assess the research questions. RESULTS: Middle-aged and older Black women in married, cohabiting, and dating relationships who reported higher levels of relationship quality had a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms than those who reported lower levels of relationship quality or who did not report being in any romantic relationship when controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. The findings from our study indicate that relationship quality is a better predictor of depressive symptoms than relationship status. DISCUSSION: Our findings extend the body of literature on the impact of romantic relationships on individual well-being and provide compelling evidence that such relationships, particularly those of high quality, are significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Black women.

COVID-19 and Psychological Distress: Racial Differences Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted older adults and Black individuals. Research has focused on physical outcomes, with less attention to the psychological effects of COVID-19. The objective of this study was to examine the interplay between perceptions of the COVID-19 outbreak as a threat to one's day-to-day life, race, and psychological distress among middle-aged and older men and women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Analyses were conducted on a subsample of self-identified non-Latino Whites and Black individuals aged 50 and older (N = 3,834) from the American Trends Panel. Psychological distress was assessed with 5 items adapted from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. Perceived COVID-19 day-to-day threat was assessed with a single question. Negative binomial regressions tested the study aim. RESULTS: Perceptions of COVID-19 day-to-day threat were positively associated with psychological distress. Black individuals reported lower distress than Whites. Regardless of gender, greater perceptions of COVID-19 day-to-day threats were associated with greater distress among both White respondents and Black respondents. However, this association was weaker among Black respondents than White respondents. Among men only, the association between COVID-19 day-to-day threat and distress varied by race, patterned similarly to the race differences identified in the total sample. This association did not vary by race among women. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This study contributes to the emerging literature focused on older adults and COVID-19 related stressors and psychological distress. An intersectional lens shows how structural oppression may shape perceptions of the pandemic. Future work should consider coexisting intersections in marginalized identities and mental health during COVID-19.

Discrimination and Hypertension Among Older African Americans and Caribbean Blacks: The Moderating Effects of John Henryism.

OBJECTIVES: Discrimination is a major contributor to health disparities between Black and White older adults. Although the health effects of discrimination are well established, less is known about factors that may intervene in the discrimination-health connection, such as coping strategies. The study aim was to determine whether John Henryism (JH; high-effort coping) moderates the association between racial discrimination and hypertension in nationally representative samples of older African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. METHODS: The analytic sample was drawn from the National Survey of American Life-Reinterview, which was conducted 2001-2003, and included African Americans (N = 546) and Caribbean Blacks (N = 141) aged 55 and older. Study variables included racial discrimination, JH, and hypertension. Logistic regressions, which controlled key sociodemographic differences, were used to test the study aim. RESULTS: Among both Black ethnic groups, discrimination and JH were not associated with hypertension. For African Americans low and moderate in JH, discrimination was unrelated to hypertension; discrimination was positively associated with hypertension for African Americans high in JH. For Caribbean Blacks, discrimination was positively associated with hypertension among respondents low in JH. Among Caribbean Blacks moderate and high in JH, discrimination was not associated with hypertension. DISCUSSION: The findings indicate that JH, in the face of discrimination, is associated with hypertension of older African Americans but may be an effective coping strategy for older Caribbean Blacks due to cultural and sociodemographic differences between the 2 ethnic groups. Future research should investigate the differing mechanisms by which JH influences health in heterogeneous older Black populations.

Neighborhood Social Group Participation and Depressive Symptoms Among Mid-to-Late Life Black Americans: Does the Association Differ by Ethnicity?

This study examined how neighborhood social participation relates to depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. A subsample of African Americans (N = 1616) and Caribbean Blacks (N = 601) age 40 and older were drawn from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to examine the association between neighborhood social participation and depressive symptoms. In fully adjusted models, non-participation in available neighborhood organizations was associated with higher depressive symptoms among Caribbean Blacks (b = 1.93, p < .01), while neighborhood social participation was unrelated to depressive symptoms among African Americans. Non-participation in available neighborhood group associations is a risk factor for depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Caribbean Blacks. Future research should assess the correlates of non-participation in available neighborhood organizations, and the mechanisms underlying how non-participation in these organizations relates to the psychological well-being of Caribbean Blacks.

Perceived COVID-19 health threat increases psychological distress among Black Americans.

The present study used data from the American Trends Panel to examine the interplay between the perceived COVID-19 health threat, discriminatory beliefs in medical settings, and psychological distress among Black Americans. We measured psychological distress as an average of five items modified from two established scales and used self-reports of perceived COVID-19 health threat and beliefs about discrimination in medical settings as focal predictors. Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine these relationships. Holding all else constant, we found that perceived COVID-19 health threat and the belief that Black Americans face racial discrimination in medical settings were both positively and significantly associated with higher levels of psychological distress. We also found a significant perceived COVID-19 health threat by belief about discrimination in medical settings interaction in the full model. Future studies should assess how these relationships vary across age groups and over time.

Parental Educational Attainment, the Superior Temporal Cortical Surface Area, and Reading Ability among American Children: A Test of Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that parental educational attainment is associated with a larger superior temporal cortical surface area associated with higher reading ability in children. Simultaneously, the marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs) framework suggests that, due to structural racism and social stratification, returns of parental education are smaller for black and other racial/ethnic minority children compared to their white counterparts. PURPOSE: This study used a large national sample of 9-10-year-old American children to investigate associations between parental educational attainment, the right and left superior temporal cortical surface area, and reading ability across diverse racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional analysis that included 10,817 9-10-year-old children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Parental educational attainment was treated as a five-level categorical variable. Children's right and left superior temporal cortical surface area and reading ability were continuous variables. Race/ethnicity was the moderator. To adjust for the nested nature of the ABCD data, mixed-effects regression models were used to test the associations between parental education, superior temporal cortical surface area, and reading ability overall and by race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Overall, high parental educational attainment was associated with greater superior temporal cortical surface area and reading ability in children. In the pooled sample, we found statistically significant interactions between race/ethnicity and parental educational attainment on children's right and left superior temporal cortical surface area, suggesting that high parental educational attainment has a smaller boosting effect on children's superior temporal cortical surface area for black than white children. We also found a significant interaction between race and the left superior temporal surface area on reading ability, indicating weaker associations for Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AIAN/NHPI) than white children. We also found interactions between race and parental educational attainment on reading ability, indicating more potent effects for black children than white children. CONCLUSION: While parental educational attainment may improve children's superior temporal cortical surface area, promoting reading ability, this effect may be unequal across racial/ethnic groups. To minimize the racial/ethnic gap in children's brain development and school achievement, we need to address societal barriers that diminish parental educational attainment's marginal returns for middle-class minority families. Social and public policies need to go beyond equal access and address structural and societal barriers that hinder middle-class families of color and their children. Future research should test how racism, social stratification, segregation, and discrimination, which shape the daily lives of non-white individuals, take a toll on children's brains and academic development.

Parents' Perceived Neighborhood Safety and Children's Cognitive Performance: Complexities by Race, Ethnicity, and Cognitive Domain.

BACKGROUND AIM: To examine racial/ethnic variations in the effect of parents' subjective neighborhood safety on children's cognitive performance. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 10,027 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The exposure variable was parents' subjective neighborhood safety. The outcomes were three domains of children's cognitive performance: general cognitive performance, executive functioning, and learning/memory. We used mixed-effects regression models for data analysis. RESULTS: Overall, parents' subjective neighborhood safety was positively associated with children's executive functioning, but not general cognitive performance or learning/memory. Higher parents' subjective neighborhood safety had a more positive influence on the executive functioning of non-Hispanic White than Asian American children. Higher parents' subjective neighborhood safety was associated with higher general cognitive performance and learning/memory for non-White children relative to non-Hispanic White children. CONCLUSION: The race/ethnicity of children moderates the association between neighborhood safety and cognitive performance. This becomes more complicated, as the patterns seem to differ across race/ethnicity and cognitive domains. It is unknown whether the observed racial/ethnic variations in the effect of neighborhood safety on cognitive performance are due to neighborhood characteristics such as residential segregation. Addressing neighborhood inequalities is needed if we wish to reduce racial/ethnic inequities in the cognitive development of children.

Self-reported Instances of Major Discrimination, Race/Ethnicity, and Inflammation Among Older Adults: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

BACKGROUND: This study examines the relationship between self-reported instances of major discrimination and inflammation among older adults, and explores whether this relationship varies in accordance with race/ethnicity. We hypothesized that self-reported instances of major discrimination would be associated with higher levels of high-risk inflammation and that this relationship would be stronger for racial/ethnic minorities than whites. METHODS: Data from the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing biennial nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States, were used to collect measures of self-reported instances of major discrimination and high-risk C-reactive protein (CRP), which was assayed from blood samples. Modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors was applied to estimate the prevalence ratios of self-reported instances of major discrimination, as it relates to high-risk CRP (CRP ≥ 22 kg/m2), and test whether this relationship varies by race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Respondents who experienced any instances of major discrimination had a higher likelihood of high-risk CRP (prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07-1.22) than those who did not report experiencing any instances of major discrimination. This association was independent of differences in newly diagnosed health conditions and socioeconomic status. The relationship between any self-reported instance of major discrimination and high-risk CRP was weaker for blacks than whites (PR: 0.81, 95% CI = 0.69-0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that self-reported instances of major lifetime discrimination is a psychosocial factor that is adversely associated with high-risk CRP among older adults; this association is especially pronounced among older whites. Future studies among this population are required to examine whether the relationship between self-reported instances of major discrimination and high-risk CRP changes over time.

Everyday Discrimination and Kidney Function Among Older Adults: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

BACKGROUND: With advancing age, there is an increase in the time of and number of experiences with psychosocial stressors that may lead to the initiation and/or progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our study tests whether one type of experience, everyday discrimination, predicts kidney function among middle and older adults. METHODS: The data were from 10 973 respondents (ages 52-100) in the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing biennial nationally representative survey of older adults in the United States. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) derives from the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. Our indicator of everyday discrimination is drawn from self-reports from respondents. Ordinary Least Squared regression (OLS) models with robust standard errors are applied to test hypotheses regarding the link between everyday discrimination and kidney function. RESULTS: Everyday discrimination was associated with poorer kidney function among respondents in our study. Respondents with higher everyday discrimination scores had lower eGFR after adjusting for demographic characteristics (B = -1.35, p < .05), and while attenuated, remained significant (B = -0.79, p < .05) after further adjustments for clinical, health behavior, and socioeconomic covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests everyday discrimination is independently associated with lower eGFR. These findings highlight the importance of psychosocial factors in predicting insufficiency in kidney function among middle-aged and older adults.

The Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Accumulation of Stress Among Black Men in the Health and Retirement Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Among the multiple factors posited to drive the health inequities that black men experience, the fundamental role of stress in the production of poor health is a key component. Allostatic load (AL) is considered to be a byproduct of stressors related to cumulative disadvantage. Exposure to chronic stress is associated with poorer mental health including depressive symptoms. Few studies have investigated how AL contributes to depressive symptoms among black men. The purpose of the cross-sectional study was to examine the association between AL and depressive symptoms among middle- to old age black men. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This project used the 2010 and 2012 wave of the Health and Retirement Study enhanced face-to-face interview that included a biomarker assessment and psychosocial questionnaire. Depressive symptoms, assessed by the endorsement of 3 or more symptoms on the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression 8-item scale, was the outcome variable. The main independent variable, AL, score was calculated by summing the number values that were in the high range for that particular biomarker value scores ranging from 0 to 7. black men whose AL score was 3 or greater were considered to be in the high AL group. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: There was a larger proportion of black men in the high AL group who reported depressive symptoms (30.0% vs. 20.0%) compared with black men in the low AL group. After adjusting for age, education, income, drinking, and smoking status, the prevalence of reporting 3 or more depressive symptoms was statistically significant among black men in the high AL group (PR = 1.61 [95% CI: 1.20-2.17]) than black men in the low AL group. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Exposure to chronic stress is related to reporting 3 or more depressive symptoms among black men after controlling for potential confounders. Improving the social and economic conditions for which black men work, play, and pray is key to reducing stress, thereby potentially leading to the reporting of fewer depressive symptoms.