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Is skin color a marker for racial discrimination? Explaining the skin color-hypertension relationship.
Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, California 92182-4611, USA.
It is widely assumed that dark-skinned Blacks have higher rates of hypertension than their lighter-skinned cohorts because the former experience greater racial discrimination. However, there is no empirical evidence linking skin color to discrimination. This study tested the extent to which skin color is associated with differential exposure to discrimination for a sample of 300 Black adults. Results revealed that dark-skinned Blacks were 11 times more likely to experience frequent racial discrimination than their light-skinned counterparts; 67% of subjects reporting high discrimination were dark-skinned and only 8.5% were light-skinned. These preliminary findings suggest that skin color indeed may be a marker for racial discrimination and highlight the need to assess discrimination in studies of the skin color-hypertension relationship.
PMID: 10984862 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Cited by 3 PubMed Central articles
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ReviewBiological, life course, and cross-cultural studies all point toward the value of dimensional and developmental ratings in the classification of psychosis.
Dutta R, Greene T, Addington J, McKenzie K, Phillips M, Murray RM.
Schizophr Bull. 2007 Jul; 33(4):868-76. Epub 2007 Jun 11.
[Schizophr Bull. 2007]
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Skin color and mortality risk among men: the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program.
Borrell LN, Crespo CJ, Garcia-Palmieri MR.
Ann Epidemiol. 2007 May; 17(5):335-41. Epub 2007 Mar 28.
[Ann Epidemiol. 2007]
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Skin color, social classification, and blood pressure in southeastern Puerto Rico.
Gravlee CC, Dressler WW, Bernard HR.
Am J Public Health. 2005 Dec; 95(12):2191-7. Epub 2005 Oct 27.
[Am J Public Health. 2005]