South Asian Men Feel Stressed And Discriminated Against In London August 24, 2009
South Asian males living in London are more at risk from heart disease than their white counterparts and their experience of higher stress levels and greater psychological distress may contribute to this.
This is the finding of Dr Emily Williams whose research was funded by the British Heart Foundation. This research was published last Monday, in the British Journal of Health Psychology (advance copies available on request).
The number of coronary heart disease deaths is higher amongst UK South Asians (people originating from the Indian subcontinent) than those of white European origin. This disparity still exists, even when conventional risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure are taken into account.
To ascertain why, a questionnaire was designed to look at a broad range of social factors including stress, social environment, psychological factors, general health and family history. This was completed in a sample of 105 men (63 South Asians and 42 white Europeans), recruited from the London Life Sciences Population (LOLIPOP).*
The South Asians experienced more stress in several areas including; work, financial strain, crowded living conditions and having less emotional support. Interestingly, even though many South Asian men live with their extended family, which would be seen as a buffer against stress, the study found that they reported having less emotional support, compared with white Europeans. They also experienced more racial discrimination and significantly higher depressive symptoms. As a result of these findings, a larger study is underway.
Dr Williams commented “The fact that South Asian men had higher education on average than white Europeans yet reported greater chronic stress may be a consequence of social disadvantage, racial discrimination and the difficulty that many migrants experience in achieving work and living conditions commensurate with their educational attainment. The downward social mobility experienced by migrants has been shown to influence rates of limiting long-term illness and increase life-stress”.
– Study of ~30,000 Asian and European men and women, led by Professor JS Kooner of Imperial College London.