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Ethn Dis. 2020;30(3):369-372; doi:10.18865/ed.30.3.369

Ethn Dis. 2022;32(2):73-74; doi:10.18865/ed.32.2.73

Background: The criminal justice system is the second largest referral source to publicly funded marijuana use disorder treatment. Individuals with criminal justice contact (be­ing unfairly treated or abused by the police, lifetime arrest, incarceration, or parole) have reported notably high levels of stress, sleep problems, and marijuana use. There are well-known race and sex disparities in marijuana use and criminal justice contact. However, understanding is limited on the role that stressors and sleep problems con­tribute to marijuana use among Black adults who experience criminal justice contact.Objectives: To determine whether life stressors and sleep problems contribute to lifetime marijuana use among Black adults with criminal justice contact and if there are sex differences.Methods: We performed multivariate logis­tic analysis, using nationally representative data of a non-institutionalized population sample (n=1508) of the National Survey of American Life from 2001 to 2003. We compared life stressors and sleep problems between Black adults with criminal justice contact who had lifetime marijuana use and those who did not have lifetime marijuana use. All analyses were stratified by sex.Results: In the sample of Black males with criminal justice contacts, individuals who reported financial stress (PR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.12-1.60) had a higher prevalence of experiencing lifetime marijuana use than Black males who reported no financial stress. Black males who reported that they were spiritual (PR: .76, 95% CI: .61-.93) had a lower prevalence of experiencing lifetime marijuana use than Black males who indicated that they were not spiritual. Black females who reported family stress (PR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.04-1.82) had a higher prevalence of experiencing lifetime mari­juana use than Black females who reported no family stress.Conclusions: These results underscore the importance of considering sex differences in life stressors when developing etiologic models of marijuana use disorder for Black adults who have experienced criminal jus­tice contact.Ethn Dis. 2021;31(2):187-196; doi:10.18865/ed.32.1.187

Obesity rates increase as household income increases among Black men, yet only a few studies have sought to understand this unique association. Scholars have posited that gendered stressors like role strain that are work-related could play a role in obesity among Black men. Work-life interference is a concept that captures the conflict between work life and family/personal life. Work-life interference is associated with obesity-related behaviors but has been understudied in Black men.The aim of this study was to determine the interrelationship between work-life interfer­ence, income, and obesity among Black men. Using data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey, the associations between household income and odds of overweight and obesity (measured by body mass index) were assessed using ordinal logit regressions. Multiplicative interaction terms were used to assess the potential moderation of the association between income and log-odds of overweight/obesity by work-life interference.The results of our study demonstrate that work-life interference interacts with income ≥400% federal poverty level (FPL) on the log-odds of overweight/obesity (beta=2.10, standard error [se]=.87). Among those who reported work-life interference, Black men who had household income ≥400% FPL had higher log-odds of overweight/ obesity (beta=1.51, se=.74) compared with those with income <100% FPL. There was no association between income and obesity among Black men who did not report work-life interference. The results suggest that work-life interference plays an important role in the positive associa­tion between income and obesity in Black men. Future studies should explicate the obesogenic ways in which work and family/ personal life combine among high-income Black men.Ethn Dis. 2020;30(4):629-636; doi:10.18865/ed.30.4.629

Although gentrification is occurring at increasing rates across the United States, our understanding of what this means for public health is limited. While positive changes, such as increases in property val­ues and reduced crime rates occur, negative consequences, such as residential displace­ment, also ensue. Individuals living through gentrification experience major changes in social and environmental conditions often in short periods of time, which can result in disrupted social networks and stress, both associated with decrements in health. As neighborhoods across the United States undergo revitalization, understanding health effects of gentrification, positive and nega­tive, is paramount. We posit that gentrifica­tion may be beneficial in some aspects of health and detrimental in others. To address current challenges in the gentrification-health literature, we recommend future research: 1) examine the gentrification processes and stages; 2) integrate built, natural, and social environment metrics; and 3) assess mediating and moderating as­sociations. As gentrification expands across the United States, research conducted in this area is poised for timely contributions to equitable development and urban planning policies. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(3):509-512; doi:10.18865/ed.30.3.509

<p><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2017;27(1):1-2; doi: 10.18865/ed.27.1.1</p>

<p class="Pa7"><strong>Background: </strong>Poor grip strength is an indica­tor of frailty and a precursor to functional limitations. Although poor grip strength is more prevalent in older disabled African American women, little is known about the association between race and poverty-relat­ed disparities and grip strength in middle-aged men and women.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Methods: </strong>We examined the cross-sectional relationship between race, socioeconomic status as assessed by household income, and hand grip strength in men and women in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span study. Gen­eral linear models examined grip strength (maximum of two trials on both sides) by race and household income adjusted for age, weight, height, hand pain, education, insurance status, family income, and two or more chronic conditions.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Results: </strong>Of 2,091 adults, 422(45.4%) were male, 509(54.8%) were African American, and 320 (34.5%) were living in households with incomes below 125% of the federal poverty level (low SES). In adjusted models, African American women had greater grip strength than White women independent of SES (low income household: 29.3 vs 26.9 kg and high income household: 30.5 vs. 28.3kg; P&lt;.05 for both); whereas in men, only African Americans in the high income household group had better grip strength than Whites (46.3 vs. 43.2; P&lt;.05).</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The relationship between grip strength, race and SES as assessed by house­hold income varied in this cohort. Efforts to develop grip strength norms and cut points that indicate frailty and sarcopenia may need to be race- and income-specific.</p><p class="Pa7"><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2016;26(4):493-500; doi:10.18865/ ed.26.4.493</p>

Abstract
Black American adults often report higher rates of obesity and caregiving compared with other racial or ethnic groups. Consequently, many Black American caregivers and care recipients are obese or have obesity-related chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension). This study investigated associations between caregiving and obesity among Black Americans, including the role of health behaviors and chronic conditions. The sample included data from 2015 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for non-Hispanic Black (NHB) or African American adult caregivers (n = 2,562) and noncaregivers (n = 7,027). The association between obesity (dependent variable) and caregiving status, fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, physical activity, and number of chronic conditions (independent variables) were evaluated using hierarchical binomial logistic regressions. Caregiving, being female, and chronic conditions were associated with higher odds of obesity, while physical activity was associated with lower odds of obesity. Physical activity, diet, and chronic conditions did not account for differences in obesity among caregiving and noncaregiving Black Americans. Increasing understanding of health behaviors and chronic disease burden of NHB caregivers has implications for programs aiming to improve obesity-related outcomes for caregivers and recipients. Future research should investigate multilevel factors that contribute to observed differences.