title: Resting heart rate, physiological stress and disadvantage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: analysis from a cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lower socioeconomic status has been linked to long-term stress, which can manifest in individuals as physiological stress. The aim was to explore the relationship between low socioeconomic status and physiological stress in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using data from the eGFR Study (a cross-sectional study of 634 Indigenous Australians in urban and remote areas of northern and central Australia), we examined associations between resting heart rate and demographic, socioeconomic, and biomedical factors. An elevated resting heart rate has been proposed as a measure of sustained stress activation and was used as a marker of physiological stress. Relationships were assessed between heart rate and the above variables using univariate and multiple regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We reported a mean resting heart rate of 74 beats/min in the cohort (mean age 45 years). On multiple regression analysis, higher heart rate was found to be independently associated with Aboriginal ethnicity, being a current smoker, having only primary level schooling, higher HbA1c and higher diastolic blood pressure (model R(2) 0.25).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elevated resting heart rate was associated with lower socioeconomic status and poorer health profile in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Higher resting heart rate may be an indicator of stress and disadvantage in this population at high risk of chronic diseases.
authors: Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia.|School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.
authors: Alice
authors: A
authors: Zhang
authors: Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia.|Division of Medicine, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, Australia.
authors: Jaquelyne T
authors: JT
authors: Hughes
authors: South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia.|School of Population Health, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors: Alex
authors: A
authors: Brown
authors: Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia.
authors: Paul D
authors: PD
authors: Lawton
authors: Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia.
authors: Alan
authors: A
authors: Cass
authors: Centre for Chronic Disease, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors: Wendy
authors: W
authors: Hoy
authors: School of Population Health, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
authors: Kerin
authors: K
authors: O'Dea
authors: Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia. Louise.Maple-Brown@menzies.edu.au.|Division of Medicine, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, Australia. Louise.Maple-Brown@menzies.edu.au.
authors: Louise J
authors: LJ
authors: Maple-Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003971:Diastole; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000095283:Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin; C517652:hemoglobin A1c protein, human