Telomere length is considered a biomarker of human aging and premature morbidity and mortality which has been associated with chronic stress.
We assessed the relation between perceived racism and ...telomere length in the Black Women's Health Study, a follow-up study of U.S. black women begun in 1995. Participants were asked about frequency of “everyday racism” (e.g., “people act as if they think you are not intelligent”) and “institutional racism” (e.g., “ever treated unfairly due to race by police”). Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay, relative telomere lengths (RTL) were measured as the copy number ratio of telomere repeat to a single control gene in 997 participants. Associations of racism variables with log-RTL were estimated by multivariable linear regression, with adjustment for age at blood draw and potential confounders.
Participants were aged 40–70 years (mean = 55.6 years), and mean telomere length was 0.77 (range 0.21–1.38). In stratified analyses, there was an inverse association between everyday racism and log-RTL among women who did not discuss their experiences of racism with others (β = −0.1104; 95% CI = −0.2140 to −0.0067; P = .045).
Everyday racism was associated with shorter telomere length among women who reported not discussing those experiences with others.
Hair relaxers and leave-in conditioners and oils, commonly used by Black/African American women, may contain estrogens or estrogen-disrupting compounds. Thus, their use may contribute to breast ...cancer risk. Results of the few previous studies on this topic are inconsistent. We assessed the relation of hair relaxer and leave-in conditioner use to breast cancer incidence in the Black Women's Health Study, a nationwide prospective study of Black women. Among 50 543 women followed from 1997 to 2017, 2311 incident breast cancers occurred. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression for breast cancer overall and by estrogen receptor (ER) status. For heavy use (≥15 years of use for ≥7 times/year) of hair relaxers relative to never/light use (<4 years, no more than 1-2 times/year), the multivariable HR for breast cancer overall was 1.13 (95%CI: 0.96-1.33). Duration, frequency, age at first use and number of scalp burns were not associated with overall breast cancer risk. For heavy use of hair relaxers containing lye, the corresponding HR for ER+ breast cancer was 1.32 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.80); there was no association for non-lye products. There was no association of conditioner use and breast cancer. Results of this study were largely null, but there was some evidence that heavy use of lye-containing hair relaxers may be associated with increased risk of ER+ breast cancer. Consistent results from several studies are needed before it can be concluded that use of certain hair relaxers impacts breast cancer development.
PURPOSE OF REVIEWSarcoidosis is a multisystem disease of unknown cause. Obesity can affect many physiological factors. The relationship between obesity and sarcoidosis is unclear, and can been ...described as posing a ‘chicken and egg’ scenario for the patient as it is not always clear whether it is a consequence of, or a risk factor for any disease. The purpose of this review is to examine the dual roles of obesity on sarcoidosis morbidity and the incidence.
RECENT FINDINGSObesity magnifies the symptoms of sarcoidosis and corticosteroid therapy increases BMI. Prospective epidemiologic studies started to explore the role of obesity as a potential risk factor for sarcoidosis. Three studies in the United States, and one study in Denmark, have demonstrated significantly increased risks of sarcoidosis among obese compared with nonobese patients; risk estimates ranged from 1.42 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07–1.89 to 3.59 (95% CI, 2.31–5.57).
SUMMARYObesity can be both a consequence of sarcoidosis treatment, and a contributor to disease risk likely through the pro-inflammatory environment of obesity. Prospective epidemiologic cohort studies are needed to explore the cause of sarcoidosis and insight into possible avenues of treatment development and prevention.
Aims/hypothesis
Our aim was to assess the association of perceived racism with type 2 diabetes, and the possible mediating influence of diet and BMI.
Methods
The Black Women’s Health Study, a ...follow-up of 59,000 African-American women, began in 1995. Over 16 years 5344 incident cases of diabetes occurred during 576,577 person-years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimated HRs and 95% CIs for categories of ‘everyday racism’ (interpersonal racism in daily life) and ‘lifetime racism’ (reporting ever treated unfairly due to race with respect to police, housing or work) and incident type 2 diabetes. Models were adjusted for age, questionnaire cycle, marital status, socioeconomic status, education, family history of diabetes, physical activity, alcohol use and smoking status, with and without inclusion of terms for dietary patterns and adult BMI.
Results
Compared with women in the lowest quartile of exposure, women in the highest quartile of exposure to everyday racism had a 31% increased risk of diabetes (HR 1.31; 95% CI 1.20, 1.42) and women with the highest exposure to lifetime racism had a 16% increased risk (HR 1.16; 95% CI 1.05, 1.27). Mediation analysis estimated that BMI accounted for half of the association between either the everyday or lifetime racism measure and incident diabetes.
Conclusions/interpretation
Perceived everyday and lifetime racism were associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in this cohort of African-American women and appear to be at least partly mediated by BMI.
Obesity may influence systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) pathogenesis via stimulation of systemic inflammation, but the relationship between obesity and SLE risk is unclear. Past studies have ...predominantly assessed White women, while Black women have higher prevalence of both obesity and SLE.
We prospectively assessed the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI, kg/m2) and incident SLE within the Black Women's Health Study (median age 38 at entry in 1995). Height and weight at age 18 and during follow-up were self-reported. We confirmed incident SLE cases by updated American College of Rheumatology criteria and collected covariates prospectively. Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusted for potential confounders, estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for categories of updated BMI and risk of SLE, relative to BMI 20–24.9 (“normal” BMI). Secondary analyses investigated BMI at age 18, BMI in 1995 at cohort entry, cumulative updated BMI and “lagged” BMI (≥4 years prior to outcome window to address possible reverse causation).
Adult obesity was not related to SLE risk: HR for BMI ≥30 (“obesity”) relative to normal BMI at ≥4 years prior to SLE diagnosis was 0.90 (95% CI 0.53–1.54). However, obesity at age 18 was associated with increased risk: HR 2.38 (95% CI 1.26–4.51) for ≥30 vs. normal BMI.
Among these Black women, obesity as a teenager was associated with increased SLE risk in adulthood. Further studies are necessary to understand the biologic mechanisms and windows of exposure for the relationship of obesity to SLE pathogenesis.
Racial disparities in oral health are well-documented. Stress has been associated with both perceived racism and oral health, yet little research has directly investigated the association between ...perceived racism and oral health.
We used data from the Black Women’s Health Study, a longitudinal cohort study that includes a geographically diverse sample of Black women across the United States. Perceived exposure to racism was assessed via two scales, one assessing lifetime exposure and one everyday exposure. Self-rated oral health was subsequently assessed over multiple time points. We used Cox proportional hazard models to calculate adjusted incidence rate ratios estimating the association between higher levels of perceived racism and incident “fair” or “poor” oral health, and explored potential effect measure modification using stratified models.
The adjusted incidence rate ratios (n = 27,008) relating perceived racism to incident fair or poor oral health were 1.50 (95% confidence interval 1.35, 1.66) comparing the highest quartile of everyday racism to the lowest and 1.45 (95% confidence interval 1.31, 1.61) for the highest score of lifetime racism compared to the lowest. We did not see evidence of effect modification.
Higher levels of perceived racism documented in 2009 were associated with declines in self-rated oral health from 2011 to 2019.
Chemical hair relaxers, use of which is highly prevalent among Black women in the US, have been inconsistently linked to risk of estrogen-dependent cancers, such as breast cancer, and other ...reproductive health conditions. Whether hair relaxer use increases risk of uterine cancer is unknown.
In the Black Women's Health Study, 44,798 women with an intact uterus who self-identified as Black were followed from 1997, when chemical hair relaxer use was queried, until 2019. Over follow-up, 347 incident uterine cancers were diagnosed. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusted for age and other potential confounders, to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations of hair relaxer use with risk of uterine cancer.
Compared to women who never used hair relaxers or used them infrequently (<4 years and ≤1–2 times/year), the HR for uterine cancer associated with heavy use (≥15 years and at least 5 times/year) was 1.18 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.71). However, among postmenopausal women, compared to never/light use, the HR for moderate use was 1.60 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.53), the HR for heavy use was 1.64 (1.01, 2.64), and the HR for ≥20 years of use regardless of frequency was 1.71 (1.08, 2.72). Results among premenopausal women were null.
In this large cohort of Black women, long-term use of chemical hair relaxers was associated with increased risk of uterine cancer among postmenopausal women, but not among premenopausal women. These findings suggest that hair relaxer use may be a potentially modifiable risk factor for uterine cancer.
•Black women have higher uterine cancer mortality than non-Hispanic white women.•Use of chemical hair relaxers is common among Black women.•Long-term use of hair relaxers was associated with increased risk of uterine cancer among postmenopausal Black women.
The US decennial census serves key roles in shaping Congress and its legislative framework, providing data that undergird much of public health research and practice and guiding the allocation of a ...broad range of federal funding. The 2020 Census is confronted by numerous challenges, including budgetary constraints, a shift toward online data collection, threats to data security, and the inclusion of a citizenship question and a race/ ethnicity series with questionable accuracy. If these challenges are not addressed properly, a compromised 2020 Census will result in difficulty planning for standard public health needs, impede work to reduce social inequalities in health, and challenge the identification and management of novel and emergent public health threats.
During the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian American (AA) women have experienced a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes and racial discrimination, and a majority of studies have ...quantitatively shown the negative impact of these incidents on Asian Americans’ well-being. Our research expands on the existing literature by qualitatively investigating types of COVID-19-related racial discrimination during lockdown and its impacts on changes in emotions, behaviors, well-being, and racial identity development among AA women. This study covered two timepoints (December 2019 to May 2020) and the data were collected using an open-ended survey with 40 AA women. Thematic analysis identified core themes related to types of racial discrimination, emotional and behavioral changes, and racial identity status that emerged due to COVID-19-related racial discrimination experiences. The findings shed light on the long-lasting impacts of racial discrimination on AA women’s overall well-being and dynamic development of racial identity. Altogether, our findings underscore the need for systematic forms of advocacy to combat anti-Asian racism and call for solidarity for AA women’s well-being.
Introduction
We hypothesized that frequent experiences of racism among African American women would adversely affect subjective cognitive function (SCF), based on the established association of ...psychological stress with memory decline.
Methods
We used multinomial logistic regression to quantify the association between experiences of racism and SCF, based on six questions, among 17,320 participants in the prospective Black Women's Health Study.
Results
The multivariable odds ratio (OR, 95% confidence interval CI) for poor compared to good SCF among women at the highest versus the lowest level of daily racism (eg, poorer service in stores) was 2.75 (2.34 to 3.23); for the same comparison among women at the highest level of institutional racism (eg, discriminated against in housing) relative to the lowest, the OR was 2.66 (2.24 to 3.15). The associations were mediated, in part, by depression and insomnia.
Discussion
Experiences of racism, a highly prevalent psychosocial stressor among African Americans, were associated with lower SCF.
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