Cross-sectional association between perceived discrimination and hypertension in African-American men and women: the Pitt County Study.
Few studies have examined the impact of the frequency of discrimination on hypertension risk. The authors assessed the cross-sectional associations between frequency of perceived racial and nonracial discrimination and hypertension among 1,110 middle-aged African-American men (n = 393) and women (n = 717) participating in the 2001 follow-up of the Pitt County Study (Pitt County, North Carolina). Odds ratios were estimated using gender-specific unconditional weighted logistic regression with adjustment for relevant confounders and the frequency of discrimination. More than half of the men (57%) and women (55%) were hypertensive. The prevalences of perceived racial discrimination, nonracial discrimination, and no discrimination were 57%, 29%, and 13%, respectively, in men and 42%, 43%, and 15%, respectively, in women. Women recounting frequent nonracial discrimination versus those reporting no exposure to discrimination had the highest odds of hypertension (adjusted odds ratio = 2.34, 95% confidence interval: 1.09, 5.02). A nonsignificant inverse odds ratio was evident in men who perceived frequent exposure to racial or nonracial discrimination in comparison with no exposure. A similar association was observed for women reporting perceived racial discrimination. These results indicate that the type and frequency of discrimination perceived by African-American men and women may differentially affect their risk of hypertension.
Roberts
Calpurnyia B
CB
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA. calp@email.unc.edu
Vines
Anissa I
AI
Kaufman
Jay S
JS
James
Sherman A
SA
D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D011287:Prejudice; D015995:Prevalence; D011594:Psychometrics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012938:Social Perception