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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2007.117309v1 98/4/743    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Asakura, T. Articles by Niwa, S. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Asakura, T. Articles by Niwa, S.

Takashi Asakura, PhD, Gilbert C. Gee, PhD, Kazuhiro Nakayama, PhD and Sayuri Niwa, MA, RN

Takashi Asakura is with the Laboratory of Health Behavior and Health Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, Tokyo, Japan. At the time of the study, Gilbert C. Gee was with the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Kazuhiro Nakayama is with the Department of Nursing, St. Luke’s College of Nursing, Tokyo. Sayuri Niwa is with the Department of Nursing, Chubu University, Kasugai, Japan.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Takashi Asakura, PhD, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, 4-1-1, Nukuikita, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8501, Japan (e-mail: asakurat{at}u-gakugei.ac.jp).

Objectives. We investigated whether self-reported ethnic discrimination in the workplace was associated with well-being among Japanese Brazilians who had returned to Japan. Further, we examined interactions between discrimination and education on well-being.

Methods. We obtained data from a cross-sectional survey of Japanese Brazilian workers (n = 313) conducted in 2000 and 2001. Outcomes were self-rated health, psychological symptoms as measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) score, and a checklist of somatic symptoms.

Results. Reports of ethnic discrimination were associated with increased risk of poor self-rated health and psychological symptoms (GHQ-12 score), after we controlled for self-assessed workload, supportive relations at work, physically dangerous working conditions, workplace environmental hazards, shift work, number of working hours, age, gender, marital status, income, education, Japanese lineage, length of residence, and Japanese language proficiency. Further, the relationship between discrimination and self-rated health and somatic symptoms was most robust for those with the least education.

Conclusions. Ethnic discrimination appears to be a correlate of morbidity among Japanese Brazilian migrants. Future research should investigate how educational and workplace interventions may reduce discrimination and possibly improve health.