Violence against Religious Minorities and Population Health: The Higher Risk of Hypertension among Religious Minority Women in Bangladesh

Datta, Biplab Kumar; Chowdhury, Sanjoy

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4229073

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“…Regarding health disparities between religious groups in Bangladesh, higher rates of hypertension have been found among religious minorities (Haider et al, 2023), and psychological distress has been suggested as a potential mechanism for the increased hypertension among religious minority women (Datta & Chowdhury, 2022). Hossain and colleagues (2022) found that religious minorities in Bangladesh have a higher likelihood of chronic disabling illness and higher out-of-pocket expenditure for care.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious minority identity associates with stress and psychological health among Muslim and Hindu women in Bangladesh and London

Dornisch,

Sievert,

Sharmeen

et al. 2024

American J Hum Biol

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ObjectivesThis study examined the association of minority religious identification (Hindu or Muslim) with self‐reported stress and psychological symptoms among sedentee and immigrant Bangladeshi women.MethodsWomen, aged 35–59 (n = 531) were drawn from Sylhet, Bangladesh and London, England. Muslim immigrants in London and Hindu sedentees in Sylhet represented minority religious identities. Muslim sedentees in Sylhet and Londoners of European descent represented majority religious identities. In bivariate analyses, minority religious identity was examined in relation to self‐reported measures of stress, nervous tension, and depressed mood. Logistic regression was applied to examine the relationship between these variables while adjusting for marital status, parity, daily walking, and perceived financial comfort.ResultsIn bivariate analyses, religious minorities reported more stress than religious majorities in all group comparisons (p < .05), and minority Muslims reported more nervous tension and depressed mood than majority Muslims (p < .05). In logistic regression models, minority Muslims had greater odds of high stress than majority Muslims (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.18–3.39). Minority Muslims had greater odds of stress (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.51–6.17) and nervous tension (OR 3.37, 95% CI 1.66–6.87) than majority Londoners. Financial comfort reduced odds of stress and symptoms in all models.ConclusionsSocioeconomic situation, immigration history, and minority ethnicity appear to influence the relationship between religious identity and psychosomatic symptoms in Bangladeshi women. Attention to personal and socioeconomic context is important for research examining the association between religion and mental health.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%