Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, M3083 Markin Hall, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K3M4, Canada.
Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K3M4, Canada.
J Urban Health. 2020 Jun;97(3):365-376. doi: 10.1007/s11524-020-00446-6.
Allostatic load (AL) is an aggregate measure of wear and tear on the body due to the chronic activation of the stress response system. The goal of this study was to examine the association between racially motivated housing discrimination (HD) and AL score within a sample of Indigenous university students. Data for this cross-sectional study were collected from Indigenous adults attending university in a small city in western Canada between 2015 and 2017 (N = 104; mean age = 27.8 years). An item adapted from the Experience of Discrimination Scale was to assess racially motivated HD in the past 12 months. AL was measured as a composite of 7 biomarkers assessing neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune system function. Bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrapped linear regression models were used to examine associations adjusting for age, income, parenthood, and other situations in which discrimination had been experienced. Indigenous university students who experienced racially motivated HD in the past year (16.8% of the sample) had an average AL score of approximately 4, which was almost double that of their peers who had not. In an adjusted model, racially motivated HD was associated with a 1.5 point increase in AL score. This model explained 35% of the adjusted variance in AL score, of which racially motivated HD explained 24%. These results suggest Indigenous adults who experienced racially motivated HD in the past year had early and more pronounced wear and tear on neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune system functioning in young and middle adulthood than Indigenous peers who did not. These findings combine with others to highlight the need for increased efforts to prevent racially motivated HD in urban centers.
身体的应激反应系统长期激活会导致身体损耗，这种总损耗称为“应激多系统负担”（AL）。本研究旨在考察在一个以原住民为主的大学生样本中，基于种族的住房歧视（HD）与 AL 评分之间的关联。这项横断面研究的数据来自于 2015 年至 2017 年间在加拿大西部一个小城市上大学的原住民成年人（N=104；平均年龄 27.8 岁）。采用经过改编的歧视经历量表中的一个项目，评估过去 12 个月中基于种族的 HD。AL 作为 7 种生物标志物的综合指标进行测量，这些标志物评估神经内分泌、心血管、代谢和免疫系统功能。采用偏置校正和加速 bootstrap 线性回归模型来检验调整年龄、收入、是否为人父母以及其他经历过歧视情况后的关联。过去一年中经历过基于种族的 HD 的原住民大学生（样本的 16.8%）的 AL 评分平均约为 4，几乎是其同龄人（未经历过基于种族的 HD）的两倍。在调整模型中，基于种族的 HD 与 AL 评分增加 1.5 分有关。该模型解释了 AL 评分调整后方差的 35%，其中基于种族的 HD 解释了 24%。这些结果表明，在过去一年中经历过基于种族的 HD 的原住民成年人在年轻和中年时期的神经内分泌、心血管、代谢和免疫系统功能方面的早期和更明显的损耗比没有经历过的同龄人更为明显。这些发现与其他研究结果结合起来，突显了在城市中心加大努力预防基于种族的 HD 的必要性。
