Associations Between Maternal Experiences of Discrimination and Biomarkers of Toxic Stress in School-Aged Children

Objective To examine associations between maternal experiences of discrimination and child biomarkers of toxic stress in a multiethnic, urban sample of mothers and children (4–9 years). Methods Data were drawn from a cross-sectional study of maternal–child dyads (N = 54) living in low-income neighbo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Maternal and child health journal 2019-09, Vol.23 (9), p.1147-1151
Main Authors:	Condon, Eileen M., Holland, Margaret L., Slade, Arietta, Redeker, Nancy S., Mayes, Linda C., Sadler, Lois S.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adult African Americans - ethnology African Americans - psychology African Americans - statistics & numerical data Age Analysis Biomarkers Biomarkers - analysis Biomarkers - blood Blood pressure Blood Pressure - physiology Brief Reports C-Reactive Protein - analysis Caregivers Child Child, Preschool Children Children & youth Childrens health Connecticut - ethnology Cross-Sectional Studies Cytokines Elementary school students Ethnicity Female Gynecology Hair Analysis - methods Health Health aspects Health disparities Hispanic Americans - psychology Hispanic Americans - statistics & numerical data Humans Inequality Interdisciplinary aspects Interleukin-1beta - analysis Interleukin-1beta - blood Interleukin-6 - analysis Interleukin-6 - blood Interleukin-8 - analysis Interleukin-8 - blood Low income groups Male Maternal & child health Maternal and Child Health Medicine Medicine & Public Health Mothers Mothers - psychology Mothers - statistics & numerical data Organizational change Pediatrics Physiology Population Economics Practice Public Health Race Racial discrimination Racism Racism - psychology Racism - statistics & numerical data Saliva - cytology Social aspects Socioeconomic Factors Sociology Stress Stress response Stress, Psychological - blood Stress, Psychological - complications Stress, Psychological - psychology Studies Systematic review Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - analysis Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - blood
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Summary:	Objective To examine associations between maternal experiences of discrimination and child biomarkers of toxic stress in a multiethnic, urban sample of mothers and children (4–9 years). Methods Data were drawn from a cross-sectional study of maternal–child dyads (N = 54) living in low-income neighborhoods in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Mothers reported experiences of discrimination. Noninvasive biomarkers of toxic stress were collected to assess neuroendocrine (hair cortisol), immune (salivary cytokines, c-reactive protein), and cardiovascular (blood pressure) functioning in children. Results Maternal experiences of discrimination were associated with increased log-transformed salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in children ( β = 0.15, p = 0.02). Conclusions Vicarious racism, or indirect exposure to discrimination experienced by caregivers, is associated with poor health outcomes for children. Immune pathways may be a biological mechanism through which racial discrimination “gets under the skin,” but additional research is needed to fully understand these relationships. Uncovering the physiological mechanisms linking vicarious racism with child health is an important step towards understanding possible early roots of racial and ethnic health inequities.
ISSN:	1092-7875 1573-6628