ArticleJournal of behavioral medicine2016
Minority stress and inflammatory mediators: covering moderates associations between perceived discrimination and salivary interleukin-6 in gay men.
Article in Journal of behavioral medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the Everyday Discrimination Scale and biomarker outcomes.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2022Pooled it
- The relationship between minority stress and biological outcomes: A systematic review.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Links between discrimination and cardiovascular health among socially stigmatized groups: A systematic review.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- Facets of mindfulness are associated with inflammation biomarkers in a sample of sexual minority men with HIV.Psychology, health & medicine · 2025Trial
- Effects of Unequal Treatment, Verbal Harassment, and Physical Violence on Subjective Cognitive Health Among Middle-Aged and Older LGBTQ Adults: Variation by Type and Basis of Victimization.Annals of LGBTQ public and population health · 2025Article
- Associations Among Minority Stress, Allostatic Load, and Drug and Alcohol Use in Sexual Minorities: Protocol for the Queer Health Study-a Longitudinal Feasibility Evaluation.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- LGBTQ+ identity and its association with inflammation and cellular immune function.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2025Article
- Threats to social safety and neuro-inflammatory mechanisms underlying sexual orientation disparities in depression symptom severity: A prospective cohort study of young adults.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2024Article
- Acceptability of Biospecimen Collection Among Sexual and/or Gender Minority Adults in the United States.Annals of LGBTQ public and population health · 2023Article
- Toward a More Relational Model of Sexual Minority Identity Concealment.Archives of sexual behavior · 2023Article
- Do supportive work environments matter for minority aging? Work stress and subjective cognitive impairment among middle-age and older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer adults.Acta psychologica · 2023Article
- Thwarted Belonging Needs: A Mechanism Prospectively Linking Multiple Levels of Stigma and Interpersonal Outcomes among Sexual Minorities.The Journal of social issues · 2023Article
- Social stress and risk of declining cognition: a longitudinal study of men and women in the United States.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2022Article
- Discrimination is associated with C-reactive protein among young sexual minority men.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2022Article
- Minority Stress, Structural Stigma, and Physical Health Among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals: Examining the Relative Strength of the Relationships.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2022Article
- Comparison of depressive symptoms and inflammation between sexual minorities and heterosexuals using NHANES study of 8538 participants.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Cardiovascular Disease in a Population-Based Sample of Transgender and Cisgender Adults.American journal of preventive medicine · 2021Article
- A biopsychosocial framework for understanding sexual and gender minority health: A call for action.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2021Review
- Intersecting minority statuses and tryptophan degradation among stimulant-using, sexual minority men living with HIV.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2021Article
- Perceived discrimination predicts elevated biological markers of inflammation among sexual minority adults.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Physical health disparities by sexual orientation are widespread yet under-investigated. Drawing upon theories of biological embedding of social adversity, we tested whether minority stress (in the form of perceived discrimination) is associated with salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory mediator. Furthermore, we examined whether covering, a strategy involving downplaying a stigmatized social identity, modified this association. A community sample (N = 99) of gay men (n = 78) and lesbian women (n = 21) completed self-report measures of minority stress and identity management and provided saliva samples which were assayed for IL-6. Among gay men, results from generalized linear models supported a hypothesized interaction between perceived discrimination and covering, such that perceived discrimination was predictive of higher levels of IL-6 for those who engaged in less covering but not for those who engaged in more covering. This interaction was robust to a number of potential covariates (alcohol, medication, body mass index, race and age). Results for lesbian women suggested a different pattern: the only statistically significant association detected was between greater perceived discrimination and lower levels of IL-6. Findings from the current study point to an important role for inflammatory processes in understanding and remediating health disparities based upon sexual orientation that stem from exposure to prejudice and discrimination.
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