scholarly journals Race, Gender, and Socioeconomic Variations in C-Reactive Protein Using the Health and Retirement Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather R Farmer ◽  
Linda A Wray ◽  
Steven A Haas
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Black Men ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Objectives To clarify the relationships among race, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) with C-reactive protein (CRP). Method The present study analyzed data from 6,521 Black and White respondents aged 51 and older in the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative sample of midlife and older adults, to address two aims. We sought to (i) assess the independent associations between race, gender, and SES with CRP concentrations and (ii) test whether race, gender, and SES interacted to produce unequal CRP concentrations cross-sectionally and over a 4-year follow-up. Results The results demonstrated that race, gender, and SES were each independently associated with baseline CRP, but only SES was associated with CRP at follow-up. Furthermore, race, gender, and education interacted to produce differential CRP levels at baseline. There were incremental benefits for each additional level of education for White men and women, but the relationship between education and CRP was more complicated for Black men and women. Compared with other race/gender groups with less than high school, Black women had the highest and Black men had the lowest levels of CRP. There were no apparent benefits to CRP for Black women with college compared with Black women with high school, while Black men with less than high school and college had similar concentrations of CRP. Discussion In clarifying the complexity inherent in CRP disparities, this work contributes to a greater understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying racial disparities in leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States.

scholarly journals Multimorbidity, inflammation, and disability: a longitudinal mediational analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 204062231880684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot M. Friedman ◽  
Daniel K. Mroczek ◽  
Sharon L. Christ
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
The United States ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Mediational Analysis

Background: Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Mid-Life Development in the United States, this study examined the role of systemic inflammation in mediating the link between multimorbidity and increases in and onset of functional limitations over a 17–19 year follow-up period. Methods: Participants completed questionnaire assessments of chronic conditions and functional limitations. Interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen were assayed in serum. Structural equation models were used to predict increases in and onset of functional limitations associated with baseline multimorbidity status; mediation by inflammation was also determined. Results: Multimorbidity ( versus 0–1 conditions) predicted more functional limitations and greater odds of onset of limitations over time. Significant indirect effects showed that inflammation partially mediated the link between multimorbidity and changes in, but not onset of, limitations. Discussion: These results show that inflammation, a nonspecific marker of multiple disease conditions, explains in part the degree to which multimorbidity is disabling.

scholarly journals Cardiovascular Health Score and Lifetime Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua D. Bundy ◽  
Hongyan Ning ◽  
Victor W. Zhong ◽  
Amanda E. Paluch ◽  
Donald M. Lloyd-Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Black Men ◽  
White Women ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
United States Public Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lifetime Risk ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Risk Of Death

Background: Long-term risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) according to levels of cardiovascular health (CVH) have not been characterized in a diverse, representative population. Methods and Results: We pooled individual-level data from 30 447 participants (mean [SD] age, 55.0 [13.9] years; 60.6% women; 31.8% black) from 7 US cohort studies. We defined CVH based on levels of 7 American Heart Association health metrics, scored as ideal (2 points), intermediate (1 point), or poor (0 points). The total CVH score was used to quantify overall CVH as high (12–14 points), moderate (9–11 points), or low (0–8 points). We used a modified Kaplan-Meier analysis, accounting for the competing risk of death, to estimate the lifetime risk of CVD (composite of incident myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, or CVD death) separately in white and black men and women free of CVD at index ages of <40, 40 to 59, and ≥60 years. High CVH was more prevalent among women compared with men, white compared with black participants, and in younger compared with older participants. During 538 477 person-years of follow-up, we observed 6546 CVD events. In women aged 40 to 59 years, those with high CVH had lower lifetime risk (95% CI) of CVD (white women, 12.6% [2.6%–22.6%]; black women, 0.0%) compared with moderate (white women, 16.6% [13.0%–20.2%]; black women, 12.7% [6.8%–18.5%]) and low (white women, 33.8% [30.6%–37.1%]; black women, 34.7% [30.4%–39.0%]) CVH strata. Patterns were similar for men and individuals <40 and ≥60 years of age. Conclusions: Higher baseline CVH at all ages in adulthood is associated with substantially lower lifetime risk for CVD compared with moderate and low CVH, in white and black men and women in the United States. Public health and healthcare efforts aimed at maintaining and restoring higher CVH throughout the life course could provide substantial benefits for the population burden of CVD.

scholarly journals Genetic heterogeneity in depressive symptoms following the death of a spouse: Polygenic score analysis of the US Health and Retirement Study

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin W. Domingue ◽  
Hexuan Liu ◽  
Aysu Okbay ◽  
Daniel W. Belsky
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Polygenic Score ◽  
Polygenic Scores ◽  
Retirement Study

AbstractExperience of stressful life events is associated with risk of depression. Yet many exposed individuals do not become depressed. A controversial hypothesis is that genetic factors influence vulnerability to depression following stress. This hypothesis is most commonly tested with a “diathesis-stress” model, in which genes confer excess vulnerability. We tested an alternative model, in which genes may buffer against the depressogenic effects of life stress. We measured the hypothesized genetic buffer using a polygenic score derived from a published genome-wide association study (GWAS) of subjective wellbeing. We tested if married older adults who had higher polygenic scores were less vulnerable to depressive symptoms following the death of their spouse as compared to age-peers who had also lost their spouse and who had lower polygenic scores. We analyzed data from N=9,453 non-Hispanic white adults in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a population-representative longitudinal study of older adults in the United States. HRS adults with higher wellbeing polygenic scores experienced fewer depressive symptoms during follow-up. Those who survived death of their spouses during follow-up (n=1,829) experienced a sharp increase in depressive symptoms following the death and returned toward baseline over the following two years. Having a higher polygenic score buffered against increased depressive symptoms following a spouse's death. Effects were small and clinical relevance is uncertain, although polygenic score analyses may provide clues to behavioral pathways that can serve as therapeutic targets. Future studies of gene-environment interplay in depression may benefit from focus on genetics discovered for putative protective factors.

scholarly journals The Impact of Educational Attainment on Black Women’s Obesity Rate in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwenetta Denise Curry
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
White Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
The Impact

AbstractOver the last two decades, Black women have been disproportionately impacted by the obesity epidemic in the USA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 56.6% of Black women are overweight or obese compared with 44.4% Hispanic and 32.8% of white women. Social scientists and public health researchers have argued that increasing educational attainment would lead to overall improvements in health outcomes. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative cross-sectional survey, Cycles 1999–2010, I examined how educational attainment impacts Black women’s rate of obesity and C-reactive protein levels (N = 2685). Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the association between body mass index (BMI) and educational attainment. C-reactive protein, inflammation response, was used to measure the body’s reaction to being exposed to stress. The results demonstrated that educational attainment among Black women does not decrease their risk of being obese or levels of C-reactive protein. This article provides evidence to support a need to increase awareness of health disparities that disproportionately impact Black women.

Abstract P155: The Impact of Drinking Patterns on Differences in the Alcohol-Mortality Relationship between Blacks and Whites in the United States

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra L Jackson ◽  
Frank B Hu ◽  
Ichiro Kawachi ◽  
David R Williams ◽  
Kenneth J Mukamal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
White Men ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moderate Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
All Cause Mortality

Background: Moderate alcohol consumption appears to confer survival benefits, but previous studies suggest that blacks may not experience such benefits due to, for example, differences in genetic polymorphisms in ethanol metabolizing genes or societal/behavioral factors related to type and pattern of consumption. Investigating potential Black-White differences in the alcohol-mortality relationship may also help illuminate if apparent benefits of moderate alcohol consumption are confounded by lifestyle and socioeconomic characteristics. Few studies, however, have included a sufficient number of blacks. Objective: To investigate Black-White differences in the relationship between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality. Methods: We pooled cross-sectional surveys of nationally representative samples of 145,143 adults in the National Health Interview Survey from 1997-2002 with mortality follow-up through 2006. Usual drinking days/week and level of alcohol consumed/day were based on self-report. Race-sex specific Cox regression analyses were used to adjust for marital status, education, physical activity, smoking status, and other potential confounders. Results: Over 9 years of follow-up, there were 13,366 deaths: 11,221 in whites and 2,145 in blacks. Participants who consumed 1 drink/day on 3-7 days/week had the lowest age-adjusted mortality rates (MR)/1,000 person years among white men (MR: 66.5 [95%CI: 57.7-75.3]) and women (MR: 34.3 [95%CI: 27.1-41.5]). Two drinks/day on ≤2 days/week in black men (MR: 101.9 [95%CI: 69.3-134.5]) and 1 drink/day ≤2 days/week in black women (MR: 60.0 [95%CI: 41.8-78.1]) was associated with the lowest MR. Compared to never drinkers after accounting for important covariates, the lowest relative risk of mortality for white men (HR=0.55 [95%CI: 0.42-0.74]) was found among those who consumed 2 drinks between 3 to 7 days/week, and white women (HR=0.39 [95%CI: 0.26-0.59]) consuming 1 drink/day on 3 to 7 days/week had the lowest mortality risk. Black women (HR=0.44 [95%CI: 0.27-0.72]) consuming 1 drink on ≤2 days/week had the lowest mortality risk, and black men (HR=0.52 [95%CI: 0.26-1.01]) who consumed 2 drinks ≤2 days/week had the lowest risk of total mortality. Conclusions: Light-to-moderate drinking patterns of alcohol consumption were associated with lowest all-cause mortality among white and black men and women although the apparent nadir varied by race and sex. Further research investigating racial differences in drinking patterns and health outcomes is warranted.

Complementary Effects of Multivitamin and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Indices of Cardiovascular Health in Individuals with Elevated Homocysteine

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Earnest ◽  
S. Kupper ◽  
M. Thompson ◽  
Guo ◽  
S. Church
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cardiovascular Health ◽  
Omega 3 Fatty Acids ◽  
Omega 3 ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Fatty Acid Supplementation ◽  
Omega 3 Fatty Acid ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Daily Ingestion

Homocysteine (HCY), C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and triglycerides (TG) are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). While multivitamins (MVit) may reduce HCY and hsCRP, omega-3 fatty acids (N3) reduce TG; yet, they are seldom studied simultaneously. We randomly assigned 100 participants with baseline HCY (> 8.0 umol/L) to the daily ingestion of: (1) placebo, (2) MVit (VitC: 200 mg; VitE: 400 IU; VitB6: 25 mg; Folic Acid: 400 ug; VitB12: 400 ug) + placebo, (3) N3 (2 g N3, 760 mg EPA, 440 mg DHA)+placebo, or (4) MVit + N3 for 12 weeks. At follow-up, we observed significant reductions in HCY (umol/L) for the MVit (- 1.43, 95 %CI, - 2.39, - 0.47) and MVit + N3 groups (- 1.01, 95 %CI, - 1.98, - 0.04) groups, both being significant (p < 0.05) vs. placebo (- 0.57, 95 %CI, - 1.49, 0.35) and N3 (1.11, 95 % CI, 0.07, 2.17). hsCRP (nmol/L) was significantly reduced in the MVit (- 6.00, 95 %CI, - 1.04, - 0.15) and MVit + N3 (- 0.98, 95 %CI, - 1.51, - 0.46) groups, but not vs. placebo (- 0.15, 95 %CI, - 0.74, 0.43) or N3 (- 0.53, 95 %CI, - 1.18, 0.12). Lastly, we observed significant reductions in TG for the N3 (- 0.41, 95 %CI, - 0.69, - 0.13) and MVit + N3 (- 0.71, 95 %CI, - 0.93, - 0.46) groups, both significant vs. placebo (- 0.10, 95 %CI, - 0.36, 0.17) and MVit groups (0.15, 95 %CI, - 12, 0.42). The co-ingestion of MVit + N3 provides synergistic affects on HCY, hsCRP, and plasma TG.

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