This study examines how the intersecting consequences of race-ethnicity, gender, socioeconomics status (SES), and age influence health inequality. We draw on multiple-hierarchy stratification and life course perspectives to address two main research questions. First, does racial-ethnic stratification of health vary by gender and/or SES? More specifically, are the joint health consequences of racial-ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic stratification additive or multiplicative? Second, does this combined inequality in health decrease, remain stable, or increase between middle and late life? We use panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 12,976) to investigate between- and within-group differences in in self-rated health among whites, blacks, and Mexican Americans. Findings indicate that the effects of racial-ethnic, gender, and SES stratification are interactive, resulting in the greatest racial-ethnic inequalities in health among women and those with higher levels of SES. Furthermore, racial-ethnic/gender/SES inequalities in health tend to decline with age. These results are broadly consistent with intersectionality and aging-as-leveler hypotheses.

Historically, intersectionality has been an underutilized framework in sociological research on racial/ethnic and gender inequalities in health. To demonstrate its utility and importance, we conduct an intersectional analysis of the social stratification of health using the exemplar of hypertension—a health condition in which racial/ethnic and gender differences have been well-documented. Previous research has tended to examine these differences separately and ignore how the interaction of social status dimensions may influence health over time. Using seven waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study and multilevel logistic regression models, we found a multiplicative effect of race/ethnicity and gender on hypertension risk trajectories, consistent with both an intersectionality perspective and persistent inequality hypothesis. Group differences in past and contemporaneous socioeconomic and behavioral factors did not explain this effect.

Innovative procedures were used to selectively isolate small numbers of Micromonospora strains from extreme hyper-arid and high altitude Atacama Desert soils. Micromonosporae were recognised on isolation plates by their ability to produce filamentous microcolonies that were strongly attached to the agar. Most of the isolates formed characteristic orange colonies that lacked aerial hyphae and turned black on spore formation, whereas those from the high altitude soil were dry, blue-green and covered by white aerial hyphae. The isolates were assigned to seven multi- and eleven single-membered groups based on BOX-PCR profiles. Representatives of the groups were assigned to either multi-membered clades that also contained marker strains or formed distinct phyletic lines in the Micromonospora 16S rRNA gene tree; many of the isolates were considered to be putatively novel species of Micromonospora. Most of the isolates from the high altitude soils showed activity against wild type strains of Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens while those from the rhizosphere of Parastrephia quadrangulares and from the Lomas Bayas hyper-arid soil showed resistance to UV radiation.

Purpose This study was designed to assess the relationship between birth weight and prospectively measured trajectories of preconception health across adolescence and young adulthood in a diverse national cohort of young adult women. Methods Data came from Waves I (1994–95), III (2001–02), and IV (2007–08) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Eligibility was restricted to all the singleton live births (N=3436) to female participants occurring between the Wave III (ages 18–26) and Wave IV (ages 24–32) interviews. Preconception cigarette smoking, overweight/obesity, adequate physical activity, heavy alcohol consumption, and fair/poor self-rated health were measured in adolescence (Wave I) and early adulthood (Wave III) and combined into 4-category variables to capture the timing and sequencing of exposure. The outcome measure, birth weight, was classified as low (<2500 grams), normal (2500–4000 grams), and macrosomic (>4000 grams). Results Multinomial logistic regression results indicated that adult-onset overweight significantly increased the odds of having a macrosomic birth (odds ratio = 1.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–2.38). Conclusions This study provides new evidence about the influence of maternal body mass index trajectories on offspring birth weight. Adult-onset overweight/obesity during the transition to adulthood was common in the sample and increased the odds of subsequently delivering a macrosomic infant by 56%. This finding suggests that healthy weight promotion prior to this transition would confer intergenerational benefits, and supports recommendations for preconception care to address overweight/obesity.

A BST RA CTThe authors report on a study of student attitudes towards disabled students in three colleges of further education. They found that many non-disabled students were not aware of the various issues facing disabled students at the colleges. Social contact between disabled and non-disabled students was not extensive, although those who had attended school with disabled pupils were more likely to have friendships with disabled students at college. Whilst non-disabled students were strongly supportive of inclusive education in principle, m any saw inclusion in the mainstream as conditional on the particular impairm ent of an individu al. Disabled and non-disabled students supported the view that early social and educational contact results in greater mutual understanding, and is of bene® t to all students.

PURPOSE We evaluated the contributions of birth weight and current body mass index (BMI) to racial/ethnic disparities in systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the U.S. METHODS Participants were 10,046 young adults (ages 24 – 32) in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). SBP, BMI, and other contemporaneous factors were assessed at Wave IV (2007–2008); birth weight and other early life factors were reported at Wave I (1994–1995). Data were analyzed using sex- and race-stratified multivariable regression models. RESULTS Racial/ethnic disparities in SBP were limited to Black and White females. The Black-White female disparity in SBP was 3.36 mmHg and was partially explained by current BMI but not birth weight. Associations between birth weight and SBP were limited to males, in whom we found a decrease of 1.05 mmHg in SBP per 1 kg increase in birth weight (95% CI: −1.90, −0.20). This inverse relationship strengthened after adjusting for BMI and other factors, and was strongest among Black and White males. A significant association between BMI and SBP was found in all racial/ethnic and sex subgroups. CONCLUSION In this U.S. national cohort, birth weight is negatively associated with SBP among Black and White young adult males.

Allostatic load refers to wear and tear on the body due to repeated activation of the stress response and, thus, may be an early subclinical indicator of future disease and mortality risk. To date, few studies of allostatic load have focused on young adults, racial/ethnic comparisons that include Mexican Americans, or the interplay between race/ethnicity, gender, and educational attainment. To fill these gaps, we used data on non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, and Mexican-origin respondents from Waves I (1994–1995) and IV (2007–2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; N = 11,807). We calculated allostatic load scores based on respondents’ values for 10 metabolic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory biomarkers measured at Wave IV, when respondents were 24–34 years old. We then used negative binomial regression models to assess the combined effects of race/ethnicity, gender, and educational attainment on allostatic load, while controlling for key covariates. We found that Black women had significantly higher allostatic load scores than White women and Black men, net of educational attainment and other covariates. Yet, education modified the relationship between race/ethnicity, gender, and allostatic load. Obtaining a college education was protective for White males and females but no more or less protective for other women and deleterious for Black males. In other words, by the time they reach young adulthood, the cumulative physiological burden of stress on Black women and college-educated Black men is already greater than it is among their similarly or less educated White counterparts. These findings provide important information about the intermediate physiological dysregulation that underlies social inequalities in stress-related health outcomes, especially those that occur at the intersections of race/ethnicity, gender, and educational attainment. They also suggest that research on its antecedents should focus on earlier life periods.

Background This analysis explored the effect of timing, sequencing, and change in preconception health across adolescence and young adulthood on racial/ethnic disparities in birth weight in a diverse national cohort of young adult women. Methods Data came from Waves I (1994–1995), III (2001–2002), and IV (2007–2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Eligibility was restricted to all singleton live births to female non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Mexican-origin Latina, or Asian/Pacific Islander participants (n=3014) occurring between the Wave III (ages 18–26 years) and IV (ages 24–32 years) interviews. Birth weight was categorized into low (<2500 grams), normal (2500–4000 grams), and macrosomic (>4000 grams). Preconception health indicators were cigarette smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, overweight or obesity, and inadequate physical activity, measured in adolescence (Wave I, ages 11–19 years) and early adulthood (Wave III) and combined into 4-category variables to capture the timing and sequencing of exposure. Findings Measures of preconception health did not explain the Black-White disparity in low birth weight, which increased after adjustment for confounders (odds ratio [OR]=2.17, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33–3.53) and effect modification by overweight/obesity (OR=3.58, 95%CI: 1.65–7.78). A positive association between adult-onset overweight/obesity and macrosomia was modified by race (OR=3.83, 95%CI: 1.02–14.36 for Black women). Conclusions This longitudinal analysis provides new evidence on preconception health and racial/ethnic disparities in birth weight. Specifically, it indicates that interventions focused on prevention of overweight/obesity and maintenance of healthy weight during the transition to adulthood, especially among Black females, may be warranted.