What are the effects of racial discrimination? Entire disciplines are dedicated to studying its impact on society as a whole, how marginalizing an entire population based on their skin color minimizes their contributions and value. But what happens to a person on an individual and even genetic level when they face discrimination?

This is the question anthropologists at the University of Florida set out to answer with a study of 150 African-Americans living in Tallahassee. The study, published in the journal PLoS One, found that those who knew someone who experienced racial discrimination showed genetic markers associated with high blood pressure.

It is well-known that African-Americans as a population are genetically predisposed to high blood pressure, but this is the first study to suggest a link with racial discrimination. They also found genetic markers commonly linked with emotional problems like anxiety and depression.

Curiously, the genetic markers showed up only in those experiencing secondhand discrimination, not firsthand. Perhaps, researchers suggest, that’s because we are more protective of those close to us than we are of ourselves, and quicker to feel slighted on their behalf.

Others doubted the significance of the findings, saying the genetic markers might not actually determine genetic function. And other factors, like lack of access to quality health care, impact health. But the findings point to the effect of mental well-being on physical health.

Similar studies have found that discrimination increases the risk of depression, the common cold, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and death. It just goes to show that racism is more than skin deep.