31 May Young and Female Low Socioeconomic African Americans At Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Samson Y. Gebreab, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Lead Study Author and Research Scientist
National Human Genome Research Institute
Bethesda, Maryland
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Gebreab: It is well known that African Americans hold a commanding lead in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and morbidity compared to whites and other ethnic groups. Furthermore, the risk for developing CVD begins early in life and extends over a lifecourse. Previous studies have indicated the influence of both childhood and adult socioeconomic status (SES) on CVD risk. However, the impact of lifecourse socioeconomic status (both childhood and adulthood) on CVD risk in African American population is not fully understood. The purpose of our study was to investigate the associations of different measures of lifecourse socioeconomic status with cardiovascular disease risk in African Americans and whether the associations were modified by sex and/ or age after controlling for known cardiovascular disease risk factors. We analyzed 10-year follow-up data of African American adults who were participating in Jackson Heart Study, Jackson, MS.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr. Gebreab: Our findings highlights that among those of lower socioeconomic status, women and younger (<=50 years old) African Americans are at increased risk of CVD, including heart disease and stroke compared to their counterparts of higher socioeconomic status groups.
African American women in the lowest socioeconomic status, had more than twice the risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those in the highest socioeconomic status group.
African Americans of 50 years and younger in the lowest socioeconomic status group had more than three times higher risk of experiencing a cardiovascular disease event than those in the highest socioeconomic status group.
Medical Research: What should patients and clinicians take away from this report/
Dr. Gebreab: The take-home messages for clinicians is that people with low socioeconomic status, in particular women and young adult African Americans of low socioeconomic status, should be considered as a high-risk group for developing CVD as such they should be regarded as priority in health care services. They should be targeted for early detection and intervention for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and related risk factors.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: It would be interesting future research provide additional insights into the specific factors that contribute to the strong socioeconomic status, patterning of CVD risk among young adults of African Americans. We also recommend that further research should be undertaken to clarify the impact of childhood social environments of African Americans on cardiovascular disease risk, including social exposures related to discrimination and segregation.
Citation:
Samson Y. Gebreab, Ana V. Diez Roux, Allison B. Brenner, DeMarc A. Hickson, Mario Sims, Malavika Subramanyam, Michael E. Griswold, Sharon B. Wyatt, and Sherman A. James. The Impact of Lifecourse Socioeconomic Position on Cardiovascular Disease Events in African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study. Journal of the American Heart Association, May 2015 DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001553
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Samson Y. Gebreab, Ph.D., M.Sc. (2015). Young and Female Low Socioeconomic African Americans At Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Last Updated on June 24, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD