Researchers are looking at racism and discrimination as an explanation for black men’s health disparities which cannot be explained by socioeconomic status alone, according to an article in the Baltimore Sun. Vickie Mays at the UCLA Center on Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities has conducted research about the body’s physiological response to stress, such as that resulting from discrimination, and health. Other researchers, like George Howard of the University of Alabama Birmingham’s biostatistics department, say that while racism plays a role in health disparities, socioeconomic status is the primary cause.

Citations:

Vickie M. Mays, Susan D. Cochran, and Namdi W. Barnes (2007). Race, race-based discrimination, and health outcomes among African Americans. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 201-225.

George Howard, Darwin R. Labarthe, Jianfang Hu, Sarah Yoon, and Virginia J. Howard (2007). Regional differences in African Americans’ high risk for stroke: The remarkable burden of stroke for southern African Americans. Annals of Epidemiology, 9, 689-696.