Perceived Discrimination and Physical Health Among HIV-positive Black and Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men

Laura M. Bogart, Hope Landrine, Frank H. Galvan, Glenn Wagner, David J. Klein

ResearchPosted on rand.org May 1, 2013Published In: AIDS and Behavior, v. 17, no. 4, May 2013, p. 1431-1441

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.

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Document Details

  • Availability: Non-RAND
  • Year: 2013
  • Pages: 11
  • Document Number: EP-51477

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