Inequality: A Possible Correlation to Health Disparities

Why does it seem that some ethnic groups can never get ahead in life? No matter what legislation is passed, no matter what agreements are made, some groups never seem to be able to be free of hardship.  This post is going to discuss both African American women and certain Native American tribes in Arizona and the factors that have a huge impact on the health of the population.  I believe that our community and interactions between populations not only contribute to vulnerable populations, but they cause health disorders. 

African American women, at every socioeconomic level, have higher rates of pre-term birth and infant mortality than white women who haven’t finished high school or black women who immigrated here from other countries.  In the United States, we falsely believe that we have created a society where everyone is equal and nobody is denied any civil rights.  But we continue to see prejudice against gender and ethnicities, including black women. Lifelong prejudice has a positive correlation with lifelong stress. Tyan Parker Dominguez, an assistant professor at USC School of Social Work, talks about stress in this way: “you have a reaction to a situation in your life that makes you anxious or gets you stressed out…you also have a body reaction.”  This body reaction he is talking about is the release of stress hormones including (but not limited to) cortisol and epinephrine (better known as adrenaline).  Dominguez then goes on to describe that labor may be triggered by these hormones and that because of chronic stress due to racism, and the added stress of pregnancy, some healthy African American women may “reach that tipping point for labor to begin sooner.”  This point shook me.  I have never thought about the problem of low birth weights in a population ever being contributed to prejudice.  Stress could cause a woman to go into labor prematurely and in return, the baby will have a low birth weight.  Birth weights are the biggest predictor behind infant health.

Prejudice is many times just words.  Words aren’t supposed to hurt you, or your baby, physically. But, it seems that words, and situations, can have a long-lasting effect on your health. I believe that we could apply this theory to other diseases and conditions that remain linked to certain populations.  For example, could the theory of continued stress response be applied to obesity also?  African American adults are nearly 1.5 times as likely to be obese compared with White adults. Could this be due to the increased levels of stress hormones? 

I believe that Dominguez’s theory may be able to be applied to the topic of extremely high levels of diabetes in Arizona Native American populations.  The Tohono O’odham and Pima tribes have the highest rates of diabetes in the world.  Half of the adults in these tribes are diagnosed with diabetes. Scientists have explored genetics, poverty, and social injustices to explain this surprising statistic.  In a study I read, it was found that obesity and poverty were large risk factors for diabetes.  However, I believe that the social injustices contribute the most to the extremely high diabetes rates in these tribes. The Pima tribe used to be able to survive and thrive because they had access to the life-giving waters of the Gila River allowed this population to grow crops in the desert.  This water was stolen from them when the water was damned further up the river in the 1890s.  For more than a century, these people were deprived of their water and starved until the government stepped in to feed them.  These food commodities were extremely unhealthy and greatly promoted to the obesity problem within the population.  All these factors together have been determined to have contributed to the ungodly high level of diabetics in the tribes. 

            I believe that prejudice could also contribute to the high levels of diabetes in Arizona tribes.  Could the continuous stress response, caused by inequality, be linked to health conditions and diseases for the Native American population, just as it did for the African American population?  Stress causes the blood sugar levels to rise to boost energy when it is needed.  These fight-or-flight hormones may be linked to the rise in diabetes.  Under stress, most cells become insulin resistant, which is what causes of Type II diabetes (insulin resistance).  If this is true, then the continued repression of the Native American people will continue this trend of high levels of diabetes. 

            Prejudice is something that must be stopped.  Racism is believed to be eradicated here in the United States but remains.  Because prejudice causes a systemic stress response, it can have huge effects on a populations health.  Words are no longer just words.  Words can have the power to determine if an infant is going to survive, or if an entire population will suffer from disease.  Prejudice is a risk factor that must no longer be ignored. 

Works Cited

"Can stress cause type 2 diabetes?" Can stress cause type 2 diabetes? N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2018.

"Maximizing The Impact of Obesity-Prevention Efforts In Black Communities: Key Findings and Strategic Recommendations." Special Report: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity - Black Communities. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2018.

"The Stress-Diabetes Connection." [Go Back]. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2018.

"UNNATURAL CAUSES | CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL." UNNATURAL CAUSES | CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2018.

 This is based off a TV mini series named "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making us Sick?".  I would highly recommend watching it.