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Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Robbins, PA; Scott, MJ; Conde, E; Daniel, Y; Darity, WA; Bentley-Edwards, KL
Published in: J Racial Ethn Health Disparities
October 2021

Hypertension, a major cardiovascular disease risk factor, is disproportionately prevalent among African American young adults. Religion and spirituality (R/S) have been studied for their potential effect on blood pressure (BP) outcomes. Despite their disproportionate hypertension risk and high levels of R/S engagement, limited research explores BP differences among religious African Americans. This study investigates whether denominational affiliation predicts within-group differences in odds of having hypertension among African American Christian young adults. Data from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were used to examine hypertension differences between 1932 African American young adults based on self-reported religious denomination. Gender-separated logistic regressions included religious service attendance and coping measures, as well as personal characteristics and health behaviors to adjust for potential effects on BP. The odds of having hypertension were higher for Pentecostal women compared to Baptist and Catholic women. Hypertension odds for women who reported attending services more than once weekly were lower than those who never attended church. For women, frequent use of religious coping predicted higher odds of having hypertension than seldom or never using religious coping. R/S variables did not predict significant differences among men. The health benefits of R/S do not appear to be consistent within African American Christian young adults. Religion may be viewed as a source of BP risk and resilience, especially among African American young women.

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Published In

J Racial Ethn Health Disparities

DOI

EISSN

2196-8837

Publication Date

October 2021

Volume

8

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1332 / 1343

Location

Switzerland

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Sex Distribution
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Hypertension
  • Humans
  • Health Status Disparities
  • Female
  • Christianity
  • Black or African American
 

Citation

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Robbins, P. A., Scott, M. J., Conde, E., Daniel, Y., Darity, W. A., & Bentley-Edwards, K. L. (2021). Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities, 8(5), 1332–1343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00895-4
Robbins, Paul A., Melissa J. Scott, Eugenia Conde, Yannet Daniel, William A. Darity, and Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards. “Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults.J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 8, no. 5 (October 2021): 1332–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00895-4.
Robbins PA, Scott MJ, Conde E, Daniel Y, Darity WA, Bentley-Edwards KL. Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2021 Oct;8(5):1332–43.
Robbins, Paul A., et al. “Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults.J Racial Ethn Health Disparities, vol. 8, no. 5, Oct. 2021, pp. 1332–43. Pubmed, doi:10.1007/s40615-020-00895-4.
Robbins PA, Scott MJ, Conde E, Daniel Y, Darity WA, Bentley-Edwards KL. Denominational and Gender Differences in Hypertension Among African American Christian Young Adults. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2021 Oct;8(5):1332–1343.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Racial Ethn Health Disparities

DOI

EISSN

2196-8837

Publication Date

October 2021

Volume

8

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1332 / 1343

Location

Switzerland

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Sex Distribution
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Hypertension
  • Humans
  • Health Status Disparities
  • Female
  • Christianity
  • Black or African American