title: Specific coping strategies of Africans during urbanization: comparing cardiovascular responses and perception of health data.
abstract: Specific coping mechanisms of Africans during urbanization were compared to and correlated with cardiovascular responses and perception of health data. Subjects included men (N=286) and women (N=360). The COPE questionnaire classified subjects as active (AC) or passive (PC) copers and the General Health Questionnaire measured subjective perception of health. The Finapres recorded blood pressure continuously before and during application of a handgrip test. Analyses adjusting for age, body mass index and resting cardiovascular data revealed that AC rural subjects showed predominantly cardiac responses and PC rural subjects predominantly vascular responses. All urbanized African men and women showed higher resting blood pressure, vascular responsiveness and hypertension prevalences than their rural counterparts. All rural AC subjects, especially women, and all urban PC subjects, especially men, reported a poorer perception of health. In conclusion, subjects with a PC style showed a predominantly vascular response in rural and urban areas whereas subjects with an AC style seem to shift from a predominant cardiac output response to a predominant vascular resistance response when moving from a rural to an urban area.
authors.affiliation: School for Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa. flglm@puk.ac.za
authors.forename: Leoné
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Malan
authors.forename: Aletta Elisabeth
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Schutte
authors.forename: Nicolaas Theodor
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Malan
authors.forename: Maria Philipina
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Wissing
authors.forename: Hester Hendrina
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Vorster
authors.forename: Hendrik Stefanus
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Steyn
authors.forename: Johannes Marthinus
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: van Rooyen
authors.forename: Hugo Willem
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Huisman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa / Q000208:ethnology; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014507:Urbanization