Report: Racism affects kids’ health, happiness
Pediatricians note the correlation between stress and susceptibility
The nation’s largest group of pediatricians warned last week that racism can have devastating long-term effects on children’s health.
A new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics is the first it has issued to its members on the dangers of racism. Doctors involved in the report said the current political and cultural atmosphere makes the work more urgent.
“If you look at what’s in the news today, in social media, on Twitter, there’s so much kids are exposed to,” said Jackie Douge, a pediatrician for Maryland’s Howard County Health Department, who cowrote the statement. “As much as you want to keep it in the background. It’s not in the background. It’s having direct health effects on kids.”
Their report comes at a time when racism is dominating headlines, driven by racist tweets by President Donald Trump, which inspired chants at his rallies and also the rise of white nationalism.
Other pediatricians welcomed the report, which drew on 180 key studies and includes specific recommendations, and said the danger to their patients has become acute.
“There was a time not too long ago under another president when I think we as a society were talking about living in a post-racial age. That’s changed pretty dramatically,” said Nia Heard-Garris, a pediatrician at Northwestern University. “It’s a new age of racism.”
A study published last year in JAMA Pediatrics found an increase in teenagers’ stress and worry about discrimination between 2016 and 2017. The researchers surveyed 2,572 high school students in Los Angeles during the 2016 presidential campaign and again during the first few months of Trump’s presidency. Teenagers who were more stressed were more likely to drink, smoke or experiment with drugs.
Scientists have documented health disparities between races in the United States for decades. African Americans are more likely than whites to die of diabetes, and have a higher prevalence of hypertension and heart disease. Black children are four times more likely to be admitted to the hospital for asthma.
Environmental factors, such as income levels, education, exposure to pollution and access to high-quality health care, explain some of the differences. But researchers have become increasingly certain that racism and discrimination play a role, as well.
Exposure to racism in adults has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, depression and other ailments.
And researchers have increasingly identified dangers of racism in developing babies and children. Studies have found lower birth weights in babies born to African American mothers who experience discrimination. A recent analysis found an increased risk of premature birth among Latina women following Trump’s election, part of a pattern of poorer health outcomes among Latinos during his administration. Other recent studies have found an increased risk of depression, obesity and greater susceptibility to sickness among children who are exposed to racism. Researchers have linked racism experienced by children to worsened sleep, higher rates of doctor visits and lower self-esteem.
One of the main mechanisms responsible for those effects, researchers say, is the way prolonged stress wears away at people’s bodies. Experiences of discrimination can flood the body with stress hormones like cortisol — a chemical that readies the body for fight or flight. Studies have shown that even the anticipation of discrimination can trigger the stress response. Over time, stress hormones can lead to inflammatory reactions that make the body more susceptible to chronic diseases.
There are other ways discrimination can affect children’s health. The new American Academy of Pediatrics report points out structural problems, such as the disproportionate number of minority youths incarcerated by the juvenile justice system, disparities in access to health care, food insecurity and poverty.
One challenge researchers often encounter is how to measure exposure to racism and tease it apart from other health factors. Many studies rely on self-reported experiences or feelings of discrimination. They typically conclude that a correlation exists between racism and negative effects on health, but cannot prove those health effects are caused by racism. But taken together, researchers say, the thousands of studies linking racism and health suggest there is a strong relationship.
The primary job of pediatricians is to protect children’s health, said Kyle Yasuda, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “It’s more than just medicine and genetic makeup. It means looking at all the determinants of health. And science has shown us racism plays a part in that equation.”