Objective and perceived ethnic density and health: findings from a United Kingdom general population survey.
Studies indicate an ethnic density effect, whereby an increasing proportion of persons of the same ethnicity as oneself (co-ethnics) in one's area of residence is associated with reduced risk of morbidity among ethnic minorities, though evidence is mixed. Measures of ethnic density are commonly taken from small-area census data using predefined categories of ethnicity. In a United Kingdom study, the authors compared these measures with perceived ethnic density, based on self-reported proportion of co-ethnics in the area. Using 2005 Home Office Citizenship Survey data linked to the 2001 United Kingdom Census, they found moderate-sized correlations between perceived and measured ethnic density which varied across ethnic groups (r = 0.34-0.65). Perceived ethnic density underestimated measured levels for whites and overestimated measured levels for ethnic minorities. Compared with participants in areas where less than half of residents were co-ethnics, those reporting a perceived ethnic density of more than half tended to have less limiting long-term illness (for all ethnic minorities combined, odds ratio = 0.81, 95% confidence interval: 0.63, 1.04) after adjustment for age, sex, socioeconomic position, ethnicity, area deprivation, and measured ethnic density. After adjustment for perceived ethnic density, there was no evidence of a protective association for measured ethnic density, except for Caribbeans. Perceived ethnic density may reflect individual experiences of frequency and intensity of contact with co-ethnics, which may explain why it was more consistently related to lower morbidity risk.
Stafford
M
M
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, United Kingdom. m.stafford@ucl.ac.uk
Becares
L
L
Nazroo
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011156:Population Density; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D017062:Small-Area Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology