Racial Inequities in Self-Rated Health Across Brazilian Cities: Does Residential Segregation Play a Role?

Abstract

Racial health inequities may be partially explained by area-level factors such as residential segregation. In this cross-sectional study, using a large, multiracial, representative sample of Brazilian adults (n = 37,009 individuals in the 27 state capitals; National Health Survey (Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde), 2013), we investigated 1) whether individual-level self-rated health (SRH) (fair or poor vs. good or better) varies by race (self-declared White, Brown, or Black) and 2) whether city-level economic or racial residential segregation (using dissimilarity index values in tertiles: low, medium, and high) interacts with race, increasing racial inequities in SRH. Prevalence of fair or poor SRH was 31.5% (Black, Brown, and White people: 36.4%, 34.0%, and 27.3%, respectively). Marginal standardization based on multilevel logistic regression models, adjusted for age, gender, and education, showed that Black and Brown people had, respectively, 20% and 10% higher prevalence of fair or poor SRH than did White people. Furthermore, residential segregation interacted with race such that the more segregated a city, the greater the racial gap among Black, Brown, and White people in fair or poor SRH for both income and race segregation. Policies to reduce racial inequities may need to address residential segregation and its consequences for health.