UC Irvine

The health of Latinx workers in the U.S. is inextricably tied to our nation’s long-term health and economic viability. Exposure to physical hazards (e.g., solvents, pesticides) disproportionately affects Latinxs, who are more likely to be overrepresented in low-status occupations (e.g., agricultural, janitorial, and service work). Despite privileges associated with high-status occupations (e.g., professional positions), Latinxs in these occupations are underrepresented and, thus, disproportionately more likely to experience solo status and marginalization in their work environments. Prior research has not considered the health impacts of different occupational hazards to which low and high-status workers may be exposed differently (or similarly). Thus, the aims of this study were (1) to examine the independent associations of exposure to physical hazards and workplace discrimination with both physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Latinxs and (2) to test whether occupational status (high vs. low) moderated associations between occupational hazards on HRQoL measures. The present study employed data from (N=4,433) Latinx adults (ages 18–74 years) from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS; 2008-11) and its Sociocultural Ancillary Study (SOL; 2010-11) and who reported their longest-held job at baseline (Visit 1) in the HSCH/SOL assessment. Participants were recruited from the Bronx, NY; Chicago, IL; Miami, FL; and San Diego, CA. Information about participants’ occupations, exposure to physical hazards, reports of workplace discrimination, and physical and mental HRQoL were ascertained through interviewer-administered surveys. Survey-weighted linear regression models were estimated for each HRQoL outcome measure, adjusting for sociodemographic and behavioral factors. Key findings for physical HRQoL indicated that only workplace discrimination (b= -.20, p< .05), not physical hazards (b= -.24, p= .109), was associated with worse physical HRQoL. Occupational status did not moderate any associations. Findings for mental HRQoL showed that physical hazards and workplace discrimination were each associated with worse mental HRQoL; these associations were moderated by occupational status. The occupational status x physical hazards interaction was significant (F (1, 644) = 5.94, p< .05); increases in physical hazards were associated with significantly worse mental HRQoL among Latinxs reporting low (b= -.79, p < .001) and moderate (b= -.55, p < .01) levels, not high levels (b= -.30, p =.141) of workplace discrimination. The workplace discrimination x occupational status interaction was significant, F (1, 644) = 6.89, p< .001); the adverse mental HRQoL effects of workplace discrimination was strongest among those in low-status (vs. high-status) occupations. Findings suggest that when focusing on contributors to health, social hazards are critical to include when examining workers’ physical HRQoL, and also highlight the importance of considering individual differences in occupational status and exposure to occupational hazards on how they impact psychological health—all of which have implications for organizational policies and interventions.