Discrimination, religious affiliation, and arterial stiffness in African American women and men

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the interactive relations of experienced interpersonal discrimination, sex, and religious affiliation with pulse wave velocity (PWV), a noninvasive measure of arterial stiffness and indicator of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) prognostic for clinical CVD. Method: We used multivariable linear regression analyses with cross-sectional data from 797 African American midlife adults in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity Across the Life Span study in Baltimore, Maryland, to examine the interactive relations of both linear and quadratic discrimination, religious affiliation status, and sex with PWV in models adjusted for age and poverty status. Results: Findings revealed a significant three-way interaction of Discrimination² × Religious Affiliation Status × Sex with PWV (B = 0.004, SE = 0.001, p = .004). Simple effect analyses showed a U-shape relation for only religiously affiliated men (B = 0.001, SE = 0.001, p = .008). Both lower and higher levels of discrimination were related to higher PWV. No such relations emerged among unaffiliated men or women. Findings remained robust after sensitivity analyses adjusted for depressive symptoms, cigarette use, obesity, marital status, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, CVD medical history, cholesterol, lipid-lowering medication use, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate. Conclusion: Religiously affiliated African American men who reported the lowest and highest experienced discrimination showed a heightened risk for subclinical CVD. Having a religious identity might either play a role in suppressing men’s unwanted memories of discrimination or increase men’s susceptibility to and salience of mistreatment, which might manifest in adverse cardiovascular health outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)