Associations Between Neighborhood Racialized Economic Segregation with Cardiometabolic Health and Cortisol in a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample of Children from Minneapolis-St. Paul

Christopher P Carr; Allan D Tate; Amanda Trofholz; Junia N de Brito; Andrea N Trejo; Michael F Troy; Jerica M Berge; Alicia Kunin-Batson

doi:10.1089/heq.2023.0246

Associations Between Neighborhood Racialized Economic Segregation with Cardiometabolic Health and Cortisol in a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample of Children from Minneapolis-St. Paul

Health Equity. 2024 Jun 13;8(1):355-359. doi: 10.1089/heq.2023.0246. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Christopher P Carr¹, Allan D Tate¹, Amanda Trofholz², Junia N de Brito², Andrea N Trejo³, Michael F Troy⁴, Jerica M Berge⁵, Alicia Kunin-Batson⁶

Affiliations

¹ Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
² Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
³ Department of Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
⁴ Children's Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
⁵ Department of Family Medicine and Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics and Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: Past research shows that structural racism contributes to disparities in cardiometabolic health among racially/ethnically minoritized populations.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the correlation between census tract-level racialized economic segregation and child health metrics among a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of 350 children (ages 6.5-13.8) from Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN.

Results: A consistent cardiometabolic and cortisol outcome gradient was observed across the index of concentration at the extremes tertiles, such that health risk factors increased as tract privilege decreased.

Conclusion: Racialized economic segregation was associated with less favorable child health outcomes, underscoring the potential importance of place-based interventions for promoting children's health.

Keywords: cardiometabolic health; childhood; health disparities; structural racism.

Grants and funding

R01 AT012164/AT/NCCIH NIH HHS/United States