Discrimination, racial identity, and cytokine levels among African-American adolescents

Abstract

Purpose: Low-grade inflammation, measured by circulating levels of cytokines, is a pathogenic mechanism for several chronic diseases of aging. Identifying factors related to inflammation among African-American youths may yield insights into mechanisms underlying racial disparities in health. The purpose of the study was to determine whether (1) reported racial discrimination from ages 17-19 years forecasts heightened cytokine levels at the age of 22 years and (2) this association is lower for youths with positive racial identities.

Methods: A longitudinal research design was used with a community sample of 160 African-Americans who were aged 17 years at the beginning of the study. Discrimination and racial identity were measured with questionnaires, and blood was drawn to measure basal cytokine levels. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were used to examine the hypotheses.

Results: After controlling for socioeconomic risk, life stress, depressive symptoms, and body mass index, racial discrimination (β = .307; p < .01), racial identity (β = -.179; p < .05), and their interaction (β = -.180; p < .05) forecast cytokine levels. Youths exposed to high levels of racial discrimination evinced elevated cytokine levels 3 years later. This association was not significant for young adults with positive racial identities.

Conclusions: High levels of interpersonal racial discrimination and the development of a positive racial identity operate jointly to determine low-grade inflammation levels that have been found to forecast chronic diseases of aging, such as coronary disease and stroke.

Keywords: African-Americans; Cytokines; Health status disparities; Inflammation; Minority health; Racism; Self-concept.

Figure 1

Youths’ inflammation at age 22 as a function of perceived racial discrimination and protective racial identity at age 17 to 19, with gender, intervention status, family SES index, life stress, and depressive symptoms at age 17 to 19, and BMI at age 22 controlled, presented as regression lines for different levels of racial identity (positive: 1 SD above the mean; negative: 1 SD below the mean). Numbers in parentheses refer to simple slopes with 95% confidence intervals. ***p < .001.