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Blood Pressure Dipping and Urban Stressors in Young Adult African Americans

Thomas A Mellman1, Tyish S Hall Brown, Ihori Kobayashi

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Howard University College of Medicine, 520 W St. N.W., Washington, DC, 20059, USA, TMellman@Howard.edu.

Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
|January 28, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Blunted nocturnal blood pressure dipping is common in African Americans. Neighborhood factors and disrupted sleep, not PTSD, significantly impact this cardiovascular risk marker in young adults.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Sleep Science
  • Urban Health Disparities

Background:

  • Blunted nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping is a recognized early indicator of cardiovascular risk.
  • This phenomenon is notably prevalent within African American communities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the associations between BP dipping and neighborhood characteristics, posttraumatic stress, and sleep patterns.
  • Focus on urban-residing young adult African Americans.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 136 Black, primarily African American, participants (mean age 22.9 years) completed surveys and interviews.
  • Two 24-hour ambulatory BP recordings were obtained for each participant.

Main Results:

  • 38% of participants exhibited BP dipping ratios below 0.10.
  • Wake after sleep onset (WASO), neighborhood disorder, and neighborhood poverty rates significantly correlated with BP dipping ratios.
  • Posttraumatic stress symptoms and other sleep measures did not show significant correlations.

Conclusions:

  • Neighborhood factors and disrupted sleep, particularly WASO, play a significant role in blunted BP dipping.
  • Further research is needed to understand and mitigate the mechanisms linking neighborhoods and sleep to BP dipping.
Abstract

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