How racism affects the health of blacks, according to science

São Paulo - In addition to the many social problems known as a result of racism, it can also affect health. Several studies indicate that racial prejudice is connected to cardiovascular disease in blacks, as well as being a possible cause of depression, anxiety and other health problems in people who are victims of racism.

Some scientific studies show that these problems can arise as a result of life under the stress of living with racial discrimination.

Here are some of these works that analyze the relationship between racism and health problems.

Kidney problems

A US study shows that individuals who are discriminated against by their color are more likely to have kidney failure. The researchers studied 1,574 residents of the city of Baltimore, in the US for five years. Of this total, 20% say they suffer greatly from racism and have higher blood pressure than those who claim to suffer less.

In an interview for the magazine's website Time, co-author of the study Deidra C. Crews said that the release of stress hormones can lead to an increase in blood pressure. A major cause of renal failure and high blood pressure.

According to the US National Kidney Foundation, the african-Americans suffer three times more kidney failure than whites. In addition, African-Americans make up more than 35% of all pacidentes on dialysis for kidney failure in the United States.

Hypertension

A study published in the Journal of the American Public Health Association shows that racial discrimination is linked to higher rates of hypertension. The researchers examined nearly five thousand black volunteers aged 35 to 84 years who have suffered or suffer from racism.

They found that 64% of women and 59.7% of men had hypertension. It is noteworthy that, to reach this result, the socioeconomic status of the volunteers was added to the account. The association between hypertension and discrimination was slightly weakened due to two factors: body mass index and behavioral factors. Still, hypertension rates were greater among blacks.

Mental ilnesess

Racism can also lead to depression and other mental illnesses cause. In a study done in the Netherlands, 4,800 people were divided into two groups: one with individuals who have suffered racial discrimination and the other not. Both tested negative in tests related to paranoid traits and mental illness. However, the researchers found that people who were discriminated against were twice as likely to develop psychotic symptoms in the next three years.

Other research has shown that racism is also connected with severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The researchers analyzed 408 volunteers and noted that blacks were discriminated against racially or witnessed racist acts had more severe symptoms of posttraumatic stress than other ethnic groups.

public health policies

The Brazilian black, and they suffer racism in the streets, is also discriminated against in the public health system. The Health Ministry itself launched the campaign "Do not be silent. Racism is bad for health" which recognizes that racism is a social determinant of health.

According to figures from the National Health Survey, the entire white population served in the SUS, 9.5% feel discrimination, while 23.3% of the black population (blacks and mulattos, according to IBGE) leaves the hospital unit with feeling of racial prejudice.