Study: In Black Men, Internalized Racism Speeds Up Aging

The Realness of Racism

“What our and others’ research shows is that racism is not some abstract artificial concept, but is part of the lived and social experience of African Americans in today’s society—and that it has real effects on the body,” says Amani Nuru-Jeter, a professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and co-author of the study. Researchers say their findings can help explain some of the well-known racial health disparities in the U.S. For example, according to the Center for Disease Control, blacks in the U.S. have a life expectancy four years shorter than the rest of the country, and have diabetes at double the rate of whites. Black men in particular have a life expectancy that’s six years shorter than white men, and black men are 60 percent more likely than white men to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. What’s more, says Nuru-Jeter, “racism is a particular form of stress reported by over 75 percent of African Americans,” so the public health implications are huge.

What scientists have found is that racism influences people’s physical health in all these indirect ways—affecting access to health caredecent workhousinghealthy food and safe places to exercise. And it can have more direct consequences, typically by creating more stress in people’s lives. Think about what happens to your heart rate and blood pressure when someone treats you harshly or unfairly, cutting you off on the freeway or pushing you out of the way to get onto the subway. We have physiological reactions to stress. Now, imagine it’s racism we’re talking about—something that people can experience “on a routine, chronic, everyday basis,” Chae says. “It wears out our biological systems because they are being continually engaged … and it can lead to this accelerated physiological wear and tear.” Studies have shown that blacks’ telomere lengths burn off at faster rates than people in other racial groups.

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