Background: Factors underlying physiological reactions from perceived discrimination and its relation to adverse health outcomes are not completely understood. The main purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that experiences of discrimination (recent and lifetime) correlate with biomarkers of stress, oxidative stress, and obesity among adult females.
Method: Data on 62 females who self-identify as African American (AA; n = 31) or European American (EA; n = 31) aged 21-45 years were included. Discrimination experiences (recent and lifetime) were evaluated based on a validated instrument. Stress was assessed based on hair cortisol (HC) and salivary cortisol (SC), hsC-reactive protein (hsCRP), cardiovascular markers, and LDL-cholesterol oxidation. Obesity was measured based on BMI, waist circumference, and body fat percent. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the influence of experiences of discrimination.
Results: Significant differences in experiences of discrimination were observed by race (p < 0.05) and were higher in AA females. Results for the multiple regression models assessing the contribution of discrimination indicate that hsCRP and pulse were significantly associated with recent experiences of discrimination, and SC, HC, hsCRP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse were significantly associated with lifetime experiences of discrimination when adjusted for BMI and race (p < 0.05). Finally, oxidation of LDL-cholesterol was significantly associated with salivary cortisol (p = 0.0420) when adjusted by lifetime experiences of discrimination (p = 0.0366) but not for BMI (p = 0.6252).
Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study, AA females experienced more discrimination compared to EA females. Levels of recent and lifetime experiences of discrimination were associated with some stress biomarkers. Salivary cortisol was associated with oxidation of LDL-cholesterol with shorter lag times and increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Keywords: Cortisol; Discrimination; Health disparities; Inflammation; Oxidative stress; Stress.