Abstract
This report examines associations between everyday discrimination, microaggressions, and CRP to gain insight on potential mechanisms that may underlie increased CVD risk among sexual minority male young adults. The sample consisted of 60 participants taken from the P18 cohort between the ages of 24 and 28 years. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the association between perceived everyday discrimination and LGBQ microaggressions with C-reactive protein cardiovascular risk categories of low-, average-, and high-risk, as defined by the American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control. Adjustments were made for BMI. Individuals who experienced more everyday discrimination had a higher risk of being classified in the high-risk CRP group compared to the low-risk CRP group (RRR = 3.35, p = 0.02). Interpersonal LGBQ microaggressions were not associated with CRP risk category. Everyday discrimination, but not specific microaggressions based on sexual orientation, were associated with elevated levels of CRP among young sexual minority men (YSMM). Thus, to implement culturally and age-appropriate interventions, further researcher is needed to critically examine the specific types of discrimination and the resultant impact on YSMM’s health.
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Data availability
The data used in this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author, SHC.
Code availability
The code that supports the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author, SHC.
Abbreviations
- BMI :
-
Body mass index
- CASI :
-
Computer-assisted survey-interview
- CRP :
-
C-reactive protein
- CVD :
-
Cardiovascular disease
- hs-CRP :
-
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein
- LGBQ :
-
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer
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SHC conceptualized the study, wrote and oversaw the analysis, and edited the manuscript; LS helped to conceptualize the study; LS and NM conducted the statistical analyses; NM, EPW, NR, RC, CWB, & PNH made substantial edits to the manuscript.
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Cook, S.H., Slopen, N., Scarimbolo, L. et al. Discrimination is associated with C-reactive protein among young sexual minority men. J Behav Med 45, 649–657 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-022-00307-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-022-00307-4