title: Perceived discrimination and physical health among HIV-positive Black and Latino men who have sex with men.
abstract: We conducted the first study to examine health correlates of discrimination due to race/ethnicity, HIV-status, and sexual orientation among 348 HIV-positive Black (n = 181) and Latino (n = 167) men who have sex with men. Participants completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews. In multivariate analyses, Black participants who experienced greater racial discrimination were less likely to have a high CD4 cell count [OR = 0.7, 95 % CI = (0.5, 0.9), p = 0.02], and an undetectable viral load [OR = 0.8, 95 % CI = (0.6, 1.0), p = 0.03], and were more likely to visit the emergency department [OR = 1.3, 95 % CI = (1.0, 1.7), p = 0.04]; the combined three types of discrimination predicted greater AIDS symptoms [F (3,176) = 3.8, p < 0.01]. Among Latinos, the combined three types of discrimination predicted greater medication side effect severity [F (3,163) = 4.6, p < 0.01] and AIDS symptoms [F (3,163) = 3.1, p < 0.05]. Findings suggest that the stress of multiple types of discrimination plays a role in health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. laura.bogart@childrens.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bogart
authors.forename: Hope
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Landrine
authors.forename: Frank H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Galvan
authors.forename: Glenn J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010465:Perception; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult