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Impact of increasing workforce racial diversity on black-white disparities in cardiovascular disease mortality

  • 0School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA hcolbeth@berkeley.edu.
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health +

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September 9, 2024

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September 9, 2024

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Workplace racial diversity may reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk for Black workers. Promoting diversity in hiring and retention can improve health outcomes for all employees, especially marginalized groups.

Area Of Science

  • Occupational health
  • Health disparities
  • Cardiovascular disease epidemiology

Background

  • Structural racism impacts workforce policies and contributes to racial health disparities.
  • This study is the first to investigate the link between workforce racial diversity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) disparities.

Purpose Of The Study

  • To examine the association between workforce racial diversity and racial disparities in CVD outcomes among autoworkers.

Main Methods

  • Retrospective cohort study of 39,693 autoworkers across three Michigan plants (1941-2015).
  • Workforce racial diversity (percentage of Black autoworkers) was analyzed as a plant and year-level variable.
  • Time-varying exposure to workforce diversity was categorized (low, moderate, high); age-standardized CVD rates and Cox proportional hazard ratios (HRs) by race were estimated.

Main Results

  • CVD mortality decreased over time, but Black workers consistently had higher rates than white workers.
  • Increased workforce racial diversity showed a strong protective association with CVD mortality among Black workers.
  • Protective effects for white workers were observed in plants with lower Black worker representation (<20%), with null results when Black workers formed the majority.

Conclusions

  • Workplace racial diversity is associated with reduced CVD mortality risk, particularly for Black workers.
  • Policies promoting diverse hiring and retention in the workplace may improve overall worker health, especially for socially racialized groups.

Keywords:

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