Socioeconomic status is linked to daily cortisol through social activities in older African–American adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 38-39
Author(s):  
Samuele Zilioli ◽  
Heather Fritz ◽  
Wassim Tarraf ◽  
Susan Lawrence ◽  
Malcolm Cutchin
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
African American ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
African American Adults

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Status, Ecologically Assessed Social Activities, and Daily Cortisol Among Older Urban African Americans

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 830-840
Author(s):  
Samuele Zilioli ◽  
Heather Fritz ◽  
Wassim Tarraf ◽  
Susan A. Lawrence ◽  
Malcolm P. Cutchin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
African American ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
African American Adults

Objectives: Higher socioeconomic status (SES) individuals report more social activities than their lower SES counterparts. Yet, SES and racial health disparities are often confounded. Here, we tested whether the frequency of engagement in social activities contributed to the association between SES and daily cortisol secretion among urban African American older adults. Methods: Ninety-two community-dwelling African Americans aged 55 years and older reported what they were doing at regular intervals across the day on an Android smartphone for seven consecutive days. They also provided four saliva samples at four time points a day during the same period. Results: Higher SES older adults engaged in proportionally more social activities than their lower SES counterparts. A greater relative frequency of weekly social activities was associated with a steeper diurnal cortisol decline. Higher SES was indirectly linked to a steeper cortisol decline via increased relative frequency of weekly social activities. Discussion: Our findings suggest that engagement in weekly social activities represents a behavioral intermediary for SES health disparities in endocrine function among older urban African American adults.

scholarly journals Workplace Racial Composition Explains High Perceived Discrimination of High Socioeconomic Status African American Men

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Maryam Moghani Lankarani
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Racial Composition ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
African American Adults

Background: Sociological and epidemiological literature have both shown that socioeconomic status (SES) protects populations and individuals against health problems. Recent research, however, has shown that African Americans gain less from their SES and African Americans of high SES, particularly males, may be vulnerable to perceived discrimination, as explained by the Minorities’ Diminished Returns theory. One potential mechanism for this phenomenon is that high SES African Americans have a higher tendency to work in predominantly White workplaces, which increases their perceived discrimination. It is, however, unknown if the links between SES, working in predominantly White work groups and perceived discrimination differ for male and female African Americans. Aim: To test the associations between SES, workplace racial composition and perceived discrimination in a nationally representative sample of male and female African American adults. Methods. This study included a total number of 1775 employed African American adults who were either male (n = 676) or female (n = 1099), all enrolled from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). The study measured gender, age, SES (educational attainment and household income), workplace racial composition and perceived discrimination. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied in the overall sample and also by gender. Results: In the pooled sample that included both genders, high education and household income were associated with working in a predominantly White work group, which was in turn associated with more perceived discrimination. We did not find gender differences in the associations between SES, workplace racial composition and perceived discrimination. Conclusion: Although racial composition of workplace may be a mechanism by which high SES increases discriminatory experiences for African Americans, males and females may not differ in this regard. Policies are needed to reduce discrimination in racially diverse workplaces. This is particularly the case for African Americans who work in predominantly White work environments.

scholarly journals Polypharmacy and Psychological Distress May Be Associated in African American Adults

Pharmacy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
African American ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Status ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Multiple Chronic Conditions ◽  
African American Adults

Background: Compared to Whites, African Americans are at a higher risk of multiple chronic conditions, which places them at a higher risk of polypharmacy. Few national studies, however, have tested whether polypharmacy is associated with psychological distress—the net of socioeconomic status, health status, and stress—in African Americans. Aims: In a national sample of African Americans in the US, this study investigated the association between polypharmacy and psychological distress. Methods: The National Survey of American Life (NSAL, 2003) included 3570 African American adults who were 18 years or over. This number was composed of 2299 women and 1271 men. Polypharmacy (using ≥ 5 medications) and hyper-polypharmacy (using ≥ 10 medications) were the independent variables. Psychological distress was the dependent variable. Age, gender, socioeconomic status (education attainment, income, employment, and marital status), health care access (insurance status and usual place of care), and health status (multimorbidity and psychiatric disorders) were the covariates. Linear multivariable regression was applied to perform the data analysis. Results: Both polypharmacy and hyper-polypharmacy were associated with psychological distress. This association was significant after controlling for all the covariates. Conclusions: African Americans with polypharmacy, particularly those with hyper-polypharmacy, are experiencing higher levels of psychological distress, which itself is a known risk factor for poor adherence to medications. There is a need for a comprehensive evaluation of medications as well as screening for psychopathology in African Americans with multiple medical conditions.

scholarly journals Educational Attainment Better Protects African American Women than African American Men Against Depressive Symptoms and Psychological Distress

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
African American ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
High Education ◽  
African Americans ◽  
African American Men ◽  
Education Attainment ◽  
African American Adults

Background: Recent research has shown smaller health effects of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators such as education attainment for African Americans as compared to whites. However, less is known about diminished returns based on gender within African Americans. Aim: To test whether among African American men are at a relative disadvantage compared to women in terms of having improved mental health as a result of their education attainment. This study thus explored gender differences in the association between education attainment and mental health, using a representative sample of American adults. Methods: The National Survey of American Life (NSAL; 2003) recruited 3570 African American adults (2299 females and 1271 males). The dependent variables were depressive symptoms and psychological distress. The independent variable was education attainment. Race was the focal moderator. Age, employment status, and marital status were covariates. Linear regressions were used for data analysis. Results: In the pooled sample that included both male and female African American adults, high education attainment was associated with lower depressive symptoms and psychological distress, net of covariates. Significant interactions were found between gender and education attainment with effects on depressive symptoms and psychological distress, suggesting stronger protective effects of high education attainment against depressive symptoms and psychological distress for female as compared to male African Americans. Conclusion: A smaller gain in mental health with respect to educational attainment for male African American males as compared to African American females is in line with studies showing high risk of depression in African American men of high-socioeconomic status. High-SES African American men need screening for depression and psychological distress.

Cultural Familiarity of Figurative Expressions From Three Music Genres and African American Adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (Fall) ◽  
pp. 238-254
Author(s):  
Alaina S. Davis ◽  
Wilhelmina Wright-Harp ◽  
Jay Lucker ◽  
Joan Payne ◽  
Alfonso Campbell
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
Music Genres ◽  
Figurative Expressions

Toward Identifying Mild Cognitive Impairment in Hispanic and African American Adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-116
Author(s):  
Valarie B. Fleming ◽  
Joyce L. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Communication Disorders ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Prevention Education ◽  
Education Management ◽  
African American Adults

Across the breadth of acquired neurogenic communication disorders, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may go undetected, underreported, and untreated. In addition to stigma and distrust of healthcare systems, other barriers contribute to decreased identification, healthcare access, and service utilization for Hispanic and African American adults with MCI. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have significant roles in prevention, education, management, and support of older adults, the population must susceptible to MCI.

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