TY - JOUR
T1 - Minority stress and inflammatory mediators
T2 - covering moderates associations between perceived discrimination and salivary interleukin-6 in gay men
AU - Doyle, David Matthew
AU - Molix, Lisa
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Physical health disparities by sexual orientation are widespread yet under-investigated. Drawing upon theories of biological embedding of social adversity, we tested whether minority stress (in the form of perceived discrimination) is associated with salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory mediator. Furthermore, we examined whether covering, a strategy involving downplaying a stigmatized social identity, modified this association. A community sample (N = 99) of gay men (n = 78) and lesbian women (n = 21) completed self-report measures of minority stress and identity management and provided saliva samples which were assayed for IL-6. Among gay men, results from generalized linear models supported a hypothesized interaction between perceived discrimination and covering, such that perceived discrimination was predictive of higher levels of IL-6 for those who engaged in less covering but not for those who engaged in more covering. This interaction was robust to a number of potential covariates (alcohol, medication, body mass index, race and age). Results for lesbian women suggested a different pattern: the only statistically significant association detected was between greater perceived discrimination and lower levels of IL-6. Findings from the current study point to an important role for inflammatory processes in understanding and remediating health disparities based upon sexual orientation that stem from exposure to prejudice and discrimination.
AB - Physical health disparities by sexual orientation are widespread yet under-investigated. Drawing upon theories of biological embedding of social adversity, we tested whether minority stress (in the form of perceived discrimination) is associated with salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory mediator. Furthermore, we examined whether covering, a strategy involving downplaying a stigmatized social identity, modified this association. A community sample (N = 99) of gay men (n = 78) and lesbian women (n = 21) completed self-report measures of minority stress and identity management and provided saliva samples which were assayed for IL-6. Among gay men, results from generalized linear models supported a hypothesized interaction between perceived discrimination and covering, such that perceived discrimination was predictive of higher levels of IL-6 for those who engaged in less covering but not for those who engaged in more covering. This interaction was robust to a number of potential covariates (alcohol, medication, body mass index, race and age). Results for lesbian women suggested a different pattern: the only statistically significant association detected was between greater perceived discrimination and lower levels of IL-6. Findings from the current study point to an important role for inflammatory processes in understanding and remediating health disparities based upon sexual orientation that stem from exposure to prejudice and discrimination.
KW - Adult
KW - Female
KW - Homophobia
KW - Homosexuality, Male/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Inflammation Mediators/metabolism
KW - Interleukin-6/metabolism
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Minority Groups/psychology
KW - Social Discrimination/psychology
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84982311286&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27534538
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9784-0
DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-016-9784-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 27534538
SN - 0160-7715
VL - 39
SP - 782
EP - 792
JO - Journal of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Journal of Behavioral Medicine
IS - 5
ER -