Tené T Lewis1, Rachel Lampert, Domonique Charles, Stuart Katz. 1. From the Department of Epidemiology (Lewis), Rollins School of Public Health - Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; Section of Cardiology (Lampert), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Pediatrics (Charles), Navicent Health, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia; and Division of Cardiology (Katz), New York University School of Medicine, New York City.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Several researchers have argued that racism-related stressors play an important role in adverse cardiovascular outcomes among African American women. However, studies have primarily focused on experiences of racism; thus, the role of expectations of racism is insufficiently understood. The current proof-of-concept study was designed to examine associations among expectations of racism, self-reported experiences of racism, and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), a marker of cardiovascular risk, in African American women. METHODS: Participants were 52 healthy African American women, aged 30 to 50 years (M (SD) = 40.8 (4.3)). Expectations of racism were assessed with a modified version of the Race-Based Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire, experiences of racism were assessed with the Schedule of Racist Events, and carotid IMT was measured using B-mode ultrasound. RESULTS: In linear regression analyses adjusted for age, expectations of racism were associated with higher levels of carotid IMT (b = .04, SE = .014, p = .013), after adjusting for experiences of racism. Findings remained significant after additional adjustments for cardiovascular risk factors (b = .03, SE = .014, p = .032). Associations were not confounded by additional stressors, hostility, or negative affect (depressive symptoms). CONCLUSIONS: Independent of actual reports of racism, "expectations" of racism may be associated with increased cardiovascular risk in African American women. In addition, although experiences of discrimination were associated with depressive symptoms, expectations of racism were not, suggesting that other negative emotions likely play a role. Future studies are needed to replicate these results in larger samples and to explore the psychological and physiological pathways through which expectations of racism might affect cardiovascular disease risk across a range of populations.
OBJECTIVE: Several researchers have argued that racism-related stressors play an important role in adverse cardiovascular outcomes among African American women. However, studies have primarily focused on experiences of racism; thus, the role of expectations of racism is insufficiently understood. The current proof-of-concept study was designed to examine associations among expectations of racism, self-reported experiences of racism, and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), a marker of cardiovascular risk, in African American women. METHODS:Participants were 52 healthy African American women, aged 30 to 50 years (M (SD) = 40.8 (4.3)). Expectations of racism were assessed with a modified version of the Race-Based Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire, experiences of racism were assessed with the Schedule of Racist Events, and carotid IMT was measured using B-mode ultrasound. RESULTS: In linear regression analyses adjusted for age, expectations of racism were associated with higher levels of carotid IMT (b = .04, SE = .014, p = .013), after adjusting for experiences of racism. Findings remained significant after additional adjustments for cardiovascular risk factors (b = .03, SE = .014, p = .032). Associations were not confounded by additional stressors, hostility, or negative affect (depressive symptoms). CONCLUSIONS: Independent of actual reports of racism, "expectations" of racism may be associated with increased cardiovascular risk in African American women. In addition, although experiences of discrimination were associated with depressive symptoms, expectations of racism were not, suggesting that other negative emotions likely play a role. Future studies are needed to replicate these results in larger samples and to explore the psychological and physiological pathways through which expectations of racism might affect cardiovascular disease risk across a range of populations.
Authors: James H Stein; Claudia E Korcarz; R Todd Hurst; Eva Lonn; Christopher B Kendall; Emile R Mohler; Samer S Najjar; Christopher M Rembold; Wendy S Post Journal: J Am Soc Echocardiogr Date: 2008-02 Impact factor: 5.251
Authors: Nancy Krieger; Pamela D Waterman; Anna Kosheleva; Jarvis T Chen; Dana R Carney; Kevin W Smith; Gary G Bennett; David R Williams; Elmer Freeman; Beverley Russell; Gisele Thornhill; Kristin Mikolowsky; Rachel Rifkin; Latrice Samuel Journal: PLoS One Date: 2011-11-18 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Danielle L Beatty Moody; Daniel K Leibel; Elizabeth J Pantesco; Carrington R Wendell; Shari R Waldstein; Michele K Evans; Alan B Zonderman Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2020 Feb/Mar Impact factor: 3.864
Authors: Izraelle I McKinnon; Amit J Shah; Bruno Lima; Kasra Moazzami; An Young; Samaah Sullivan; Zakaria Almuwaqqat; Mariana Garcia; Lisa Elon; J Douglas Bremner; Paolo Raggi; Arshed A Quyyumi; Viola Vaccarino; Tené T Lewis Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2021-06-01 Impact factor: 3.864
Authors: Miriam E Van Dyke; Nicole Kau'i Baumhofer; Natalie Slopen; Mahasin S Mujahid; Cheryl R Clark; David R Williams; Tené T Lewis Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2020-04 Impact factor: 3.864
Authors: Leslie Salas-Hernández; Jordan E DeVylder; Hannah L F Cooper; Catherine dP Duarte; Alyasah A Sewell; Elizabeth Reisinger Walker; Regine Haardörfer Journal: J Urban Health Date: 2022-06-06 Impact factor: 5.801
Authors: S Duke Han; Lisa L Barnes; Sue Leurgans; Lei Yu; Christopher C Stewart; Melissa Lamar; Crystal M Glover; David A Bennett; Patricia A Boyle Journal: Front Psychol Date: 2021-07-12