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Updated: Sep 4, 2025

Rapid Fractionation and Isolation of Whole Blood Components in Samples Obtained from a Community-based Setting
Published on: November 30, 2015
Racial and ethnic differences in blood pressure before and after the 2016 United States general election
Andrew Y Hwang1, Michelle I Cardel2,3,4, Steven M Smith3,5
1Department of Clinical Sciences, Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy, High Point University, High Point, North Carolina, USA.
Objectives:
The 2016 U.S. presidential election was a major source of stress among many adults. Psychosocial stress can manifest physiologically in elevated blood pressure (BP). Little is known regarding the association of macro-level sociopolitical events with BP changes at the population-level. This study sought to characterize population-level changes in BP following the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Methods:
Using 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we included participants aged ≥18 years during the same periods prior to (May to October 2015/2016) and after (May to October 2017/2018) the election. Survey-weighted data were analyzed to compare population-level systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) pre- and post-election, stratified by race/ethnicity. Sex differences were also investigated.
Results:
We observed significant increases in SBP among non-Hispanic (NH) Asian participants (+3.4 mmHg; p = .046), but not among other racial/ethnic participants. DBP increased among NH Black participants (+2.3 mmHg; p = .049) and Mexican American participants (+2.9 mmHg; p = .007), but not among other racial/ethnic participants. These changes appeared attributable to differential BP changes by sex.
Conclusions:
At the population-level, variable changes in BP were observed by race/ethnicity following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, possibly driven by SBP elevations among women.
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