Racial Discrimination, Religious Coping, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among African American Women and Men

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Cardiovascular Health
• Psychosocial Stressors

Background:

• Racial discrimination is a significant stressor linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
• Understanding protective factors like religious coping is crucial for African American health.
• Previous research has not fully explored the sex-specific role of religious coping in mitigating CVD risk associated with discrimination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if religious coping buffers the association between racial discrimination and CVD risk factors in African American adults.
• To examine sex differences in the relationship between racial discrimination, religious coping, and CVD risk.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study using data from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span study (N=815).
• Self-reported measures of racial discrimination and religious coping.
• Clinically assessed CVD risk factors including blood pressure, HbA1c, BMI, and cholesterol.

Main Results:

• Religious coping was negatively associated with systolic blood pressure and HbA1c among men experiencing racial discrimination.
• Among women experiencing racial discrimination, higher religious coping was linked to increased HbA1c and BMI.
• The lowest CVD risk was observed in women who experienced discrimination but used religious coping infrequently.

Conclusions:

• Religious coping may offer a protective effect against CVD risk for African American men exposed to racial discrimination.
• This buffering effect was not observed in African American women, suggesting different psychosocial stress responses.
• Further research is necessary to explore the nuances of religious coping and its impact on CVD risk across different populations and stressors.