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Findings from the Health Surveys for England indicate that Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean men report higher current smoking rates than other men, while white and Black Caribbean women smoke more frequently than other women. Deprivation explains differences in current smoking rates between Bangladeshi and Black Caribbean, and white English men. The smoking rates of Pakistani men and Black Caribbean women were significantly lower than those of white English people after adjusting for socio-economic status. The smoking rates of white English, Black Caribbean and Pakistani men and Black Caribbean women appear more stable over time than those of other groups.

Background: There is considerable evidence that incidence of schizophrenia and other psychoses varies across ethnic groups in the UK, with particularly high rates for people of African-Caribbean origin., Aims: The aims of this shady were to estimate in a community-based sample of people from ethnic minorities: 1) the prevalence of psychotic symptoms; and 2) risk factors for reporting psychotic symptoms., Method: Face-to-face interviews were carried out with a probabilistic sample of 4281 adults from six ethnic groups living in the UK. Psychotic symptoms were measured using the psychosis screening questionnaire (PSQ)., Results: There was a twofold higher rate of reporting psychotic symptoms on the PSQ in Black Caribbean people compared with Whites. Adjustment for demographic factors had little effect on this association., Conclusion: Prevalence rates of psychotic symptoms were higher in people from ethnic minorities, but were not consistent with the much higher first contact rates for psychotic disorder reported previously, particularly in Black Caribbeans.

Objectives: We measured perceived discrimination and its association with common mental disorders among workers in the United Kingdom., Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of a national sample of 6 ethnic groups (n=2054). Discrimination was measured as reports of insults; unfair treatment at work; or job denial stemming from race, religion, or language. The outcome assessed was presence of common mental disorders., Results: The risk of mental disorders was highest among ethnic minority individuals reporting unfair treatment (odds ratio [OR]=2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.2, 3.2) and racial insults (OR=2.3; 95% CI=1.4, 3.6). The overall greatest risks were observed among Black Caribbeans exposed to unfair treatment at work (OR=2.9; 95% CI=1.2, 7.3) and Indian (OR=3.1; 95% CI=1.4, 7.2), Bangladeshi (OR=32.9; 95% CI=2.5, 436.0), and Irish (OR=2.9; 95% CI=1.1, 7.6) individuals reporting insults., Conclusions: Racial/ethnic discrimination shows strong associations with common mental disorders.

We set out to explore the influence of environment on ethnic inequalities in health. Studies exploring the relationship between environment and health have tended to ignore the role of ethnicity, and the health impact of the residential concentration of ethnic minority groups in disadvantaged areas. Those that have explored the role of ethnicity tend to focus on the way in which residential concentration may promote a sense of community among ethnic minority groups, and, consequently, may be protective of health (the 'ethnic density effect'). Again, they have tended to ignore the health impact of the concentration of ethnic minority groups in areas of social and economic disadvantage. We undertook a factor analysis to determine aspects of perception of 'quality' of the local environment, followed by multi-level analyses to explore the relationship between self-reported fair or poor health and individual- and ward-level characteristics among four ethnic groups (Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi, and white) in the UK. Results of the factor analysis suggested three underlying dimensions of perception of quality of the local area, related to the quality of the local environment, the provision of local amenities and local problems of crime and nuisance. These factors were entered into the multi-level models at level 2, along with indicators of ward-level ethnic density and Townsend's deprivation score, with age, gender and household social class entered at level 1. In general, there was a residual random ward-level effect suggesting an area influence on self-assessed health. However, on the whole, none of the ward-level indicators showed any statistically significant association with self-assessed health, making it difficult to precisely determine the mechanisms operating. These findings suggest, though, that there is no ethnic density effect on self-assessed health for ethnic minority groups.

Objectives: This study explored associations between racism, social class, and health among ethnic minority people in England and Wales., Methods: We conducted a series of regression analyses on cross-sectional data from the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities to explore the relation between different indicators of racism and health and household occupational class., Results: Marked independent associations existed between reported experience of racism and perceptions of Britain as a "racist society," household social class, age, sex, and various mental and physical health indicators. These associations showed reasonable consistency across the different ethnic groups., Conclusions: The different ways in which racism may manifest itself (as interpersonal violence, institutional discrimination, or socioeconomic disadvantage) all have independent detrimental effects on health, regardless of the health indicator used.