Goal-Striving Stress and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the Jackson Heart Study.

INTRODUCTION: Addressing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors is essential to reducing CVD burden in African Americans (AAs). Goal-striving stress (GSS), the stress associated with fears of failure, is particularly relevant to AAa in a society where their upward mobility is often blocked. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the association between GSS and incident hypertension, diabetes, and obesity among AAs. METHODS: Hazard regression models were used to assess the relationship between GSS and incident hypertension, diabetes, and obesity among 4,485 participants in the Jackson Heart Study. RESULTS: Among men, those with high (vs. low) GSS were 41% less likely to become obese over a mean period of eight years: 0.59 (0.36, 0.95) p=.03. DISCUSSION: Differences in health behaviors and in stress hormone responses may explain the stress-obesity association we found in men but not women. Future research should examine other factors that may explain this relationship.

Duke Scholars

Author Reed Deangelis  

Author LaShaunta Glover Population Health Sciences