Cholesterol concentrations and cardiovascular reactivity to stress in African American college volunteers

Parasympathetic Response Patterns are Associated with Metabolic Syndrome Among Older Women but Not Men

Background

Little is known about the role of physiological stress responses in metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Purpose

To examine whether patterns of autonomic response to psychological stress are associated with MetS and whether this association is moderated by sex

Methods

1121 men and women (M_age = 65.3 ± 6.77 years) with and without coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent an anger recall stressor task. Heart rate and heart-rate variability (HRV; HF, LF/HF) were assessed. Clusters of participants showing similar patterns of response across baseline, stress, and recovery periods were created using ACECLUS and FASTCLUS in SAS. Logistic regressions included clusters and interaction between clusters and sex as independent variables, controlling for relevant covariates. ANCOVAs were conducted in secondary analyses utilizing a continuous composite representation of MetS.

Results

Men and women showing greater tonic and phasic HR elevations were more likely to meet MetS criteria (OR = 1.45, [95% CI = 1.02–2.07], p = .037). HF-HRV cluster interacted significantly with sex (p < .001) to predict MetS. In women, those with significant parasympathetic withdrawal to stress and poor recovery were more likely to have MetS than women with a more moderate response (OR = 2.56, [95% CI = 1.23–5.41], p = .013). Women who displayed stress-related parasympathetic activation were also at greater risk of MetS (OR = 2.30, [95% CI = 1.30–4.07], p = .004). Results using a continuous measure of MetS were generally consistent with these findings.

Conclusion

Among older participants with CAD or other noncardiovascular disease, hyperreactivity to stress was associated with greater prevalence of MetS, particularly in women. Consistent with emerging literature, women who showed blunting or activation of parasympathetic responses to stress were similarly at greater risk.

Resting Plasma Lipids and Cardiovascular Reactivity to Acute Psychological Stress

Abstract. Prior research suggests that hyperlipidemia is associated with elevated blood pressure responses to acute stress but whether lipid levels influence underlying cardiac and vascular determinants of blood pressure during stress is not known. Thus, we examined whether lipids were associated with stress-induced blood pressure responses and responses of stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR). In 19 healthy university students (15 men), blood was drawn to measure lipid levels (triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-c], high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-c], total cholesterol) after a 10-min rest period. Participants then completed a 6-min mental arithmetic stressor and a 3-min cold pressor (separated by a 10-min recovery). This procedure was repeated twice, approximately 6 weeks apart. Lipids and hemodynamic values were averaged across the two sessions. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that a model including LDL-c, HDL-c, and triglycerides significantly predicted diastolic blood pressure (DBP), R2adj = .45, p = .007, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) cold pressor reactivity, R2adj = .35, p = .023. Individually, only LDL-c significantly predicted DBP, β = .64, p = .003, and SBP cold pressor reactivity, β = .64, p = .005. The same model marginally predicted CO, R2adj = .24, p = .069, and TPR, R2adj = 21, p = .091, reactivity to mental arithmetic, but only triglycerides were independently associated with CO, β = −.63, p = .012, and TPR, β = .54, p = .029 reactivity. Lipids were not associated with heart rate (HR) or SV reactivity. LDL-c was positively associated with the blood pressure response to the cold pressor, whereas triglycerides were positively and negatively associated with the TPR and CO responses, respectively, to mental arithmetic. Endothelial dysfunction and greater release of vasoconstrictors in those with high lipids may explain these relationships.

Nonsupportive peer norms and incarceration as HIV risk correlates for young black men who have sex with men

Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) are at considerable risk for HIV infection. A convenience sample of BMSM (n=252) attending nightclubs in three North Carolina cities was surveyed to investigate factors associated with unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). About 45% reported UAI in the past 2 months. BMSM who strongly agreed that their male friends used condoms for anal sex were significantly less likely to report any UAI. Recently incarcerated men were significantly more likely to report unprotected insertive anal sex. In secondary analyses, men who reported experiencing discrimination based on their race and nongay identified men reported more favorable peer norms for condom use. Men who reported that their family disapproved of their being gay were more likely to have been incarcerated in the past 2 months. HIV prevention for BMSM must promote supportive peer norms for condom use and address incarceration, racial discrimination, and family disapproval.

Mediation of cognitive function by high fat diet following stress and inflammation

In addition to commonly advertised hazards of obesity contributed by excess dietary fat, evidence of alterations in brain chemistry and structure are well documented. This brief review examines the role of nutrients, minerals and certain lipids, primarily the essential fatty acids (FA), that are beneficial to the maintenance of good health and that may offer therapeutic options by dietary supplementation. The review also considers the damaging effects of stress, especially in pre-existing conditions of obesity and diabetes, as studied in both animals and humans. The main focus of this brief review is to examine the effects of a high fat diet on stress and the immune system with particular emphasis on brain and cognitive function.

Moderating effects of perceived racism on john henryism and blood pressure reactivity in black female college students

BACKGROUND

Relative to other ethnic groups in the United States Blacks have disproportionately higher rates of hypertension. Research suggest that perceived racism might moderate the relation between such Pearson variables as John Henryism and cardiac/vascular functioning.

PURPOSE

This study examined the possible moderating influence of perceived racism on the John Henryism reactivity relation in a sample of 117 Black female college students (M age = 26.10 years, SD = 8.83).

METHODS

Blood pressure was measured before and during a speaking task. John Henryism and perceived racism were assessed via self-report.

RESULTS

Hierarchial regression analyses revealed that John Henryism was inversely related to systolic blood pressure reactivity (p = .007). These analyses also indicated that John Henryism and perceived racism interacted to predict both systolic (p = .007) and diastolic blood pressure reactivity (p = .0005). Follow-up regression analyses indicated that John Henryism was unrelated to systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity for women high in perceived racism (ps > .62) and was inversely associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity for women low in perceived racism (ps < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight the importance of examining the potential moderating effects of ethnically relevant situation factors when exploring the relation of John Henryism to blood pressure reactivity.

Sociodemographic diversity and behavioral medicine

The broad array of economic and cultural diversity in the U.S. population correlates with and impacts on the study of behavioral aspects of health. The purpose of this article was to provide a selective overview of behavioral medicine research on sociodemographically diverse populations, with a focus on ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Suggestions are provided with regard to methodological refinement of research and insights into possible future directions in behavioral medicine research on ethnically and economically diverse populations.

Examining the burdens of gendered racism: implications for pregnancy outcomes among college-educated African American women

OBJECTIVES

As investigators increasingly identify racism as a risk factor for poor health outcomes (with implications for adverse birth outcomes), research efforts must explore individual experiences with and responses to racism. In this study, our aim was to determine how African American college-educated women experience racism that is linked to their identities and roles as African American women (gendered racism).

METHODS

Four hundred seventy-four (474) African American women collaborated in an iterative research process that included focus groups, interviews, and the administration of a pilot stress instrument developed from the qualitative data. Analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data from the responses of a subsample of 167 college-educated women was conducted to determine how the women experienced racism as a stressor.

RESULTS

The responses of the women and the results from correlational analysis revealed that a felt sense of obligations for protecting children from racism and the racism that African American women encountered in the workplace were significant stressors. Strong associations were found between pilot scale items where the women acknowledged concerns for their abilities to provide for their children's needs and to the women's specific experiences with racism in the workplace (r = 0.408, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

We hypothesize that the stressors of gendered racism that precede and accompany pregnancy may be risk factors for adverse birth outcomes.