Disparities in hypertension between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites have been well-documented, yet an explanation for this persistent disparity remains elusive. Since African Americans and non-Hispanic white Americans tend to live in very different social environments, it is not known whether race disparities in hypertension would persist if non-Hispanic whites and African Americans were exposed to similar social environments. We compared data from the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities-SWB (EHDIC-SWB) Study with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2004 to determine if race disparities in hypertension in the USA were attenuated in EHDIC-SWB, which is based in a raciallyintegrated community without race differences in income. Hypertension was defined as systolic Blood Pressure (BP)>= 140 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and/or diastolic BP >= 90 mm Hg or respondent’s report of taking antihypertensive medications. Of the 1408 study participants, 835 (59.3%) were African American, 628 (44.6%) were men, and the mean age was 40.6 years. After adjustment for potential confounders, various analytic models from EHDIC-SWB and NHANES 1999–2004 data, we found the race odds ratio was between 29.0% and 34% smaller in the EHDIC-SWB sample. We conclude that social and environmental exposures explained a substantial proportion of the race difference in hypertension.
We compared race disparities in health services use in a national sample of adults from the 2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and data from the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities Project, a 2003 survey of adult residents from a low-income integrated urban community in Maryland. In the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data, African Americans were less likely to have a health care visit compared with Whites. However, in the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities Project, the integrated community, African Americans were more likely to have a health care visit than Whites. The race disparities in the incidence rate of health care use among persons who had at least one visit were similar in both samples. Our findings suggest that disparities in health care utilization may differ across communities and that residential segregation may be a confounding factor.
In twin research, typically both members of a pair must participate. Survivorship of members of intact pairs compared to surviving members of nonintact twin pairs may reflect differences in psychosocial and health factors, and represent a potential selection bias relative to the general population. The purpose of the present study is to examine health, cognition, and well-being among members of African American intact twin pairs compared to individuals from nonintact twin pairs. Data from the Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA) were used for analyses. Subjects ranged in age from 25 to 89 years of age (mean = 59.78 years, SD = 12.84 years). CAATSA implements a 3-h protocol to collect data on demographics, health, cognition, and well-being. Data from one randomly selected member of each twin pair (N = 78) was compared to data from surviving members of nonintact twin pairs (N = 52). The results indicated significant differences on 11 of the 39 measures (i.e., age, education, forced expiratory volume, mean standing and sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressures, cognitive impairment score, alpha span, digit symbol, and logical memory). In each case, members of intact twin pairs performed better than surviving members of nonintact twin pairs. After controlling demographic variables, only blood pressures differed between the groups. It appears that using only pairs in research on older African American twins may represent a selection bias in estimating origins of individual variability in cognitive functioning and health but not psychological well-being.
Results: In men, additive genetic effects accounted for 77% of the variance in WC, 59% in WHR, and 89% in BMI. In women, additive genetic effects accounted for 76% of the variance in WC, 56% in WHR, and 73% in BMI. The remaining variance in both men and women was attributed to unique environmental effects (WC, 21%; WHR, 36%; BMI, 11% in men and WC, 22%; WHR, 38%; BMI, 27% in women) and age (WC, 2%; WHR, 5% in men and WC, 2%; WHR, 6% in women). When BMI was controlled in the analysis of WC and WHR, it accounted for a portion of the genetic and environmental variance in WHR and over onehalf of the genetic and environmental variance in WC. Discussion: There are both genetic and environmental influences on WC, WHR, and BMI, and independent of BMI, there are genetic and environmental effects on WC and WHR among both genders. The results from this AfricanAmerican twin sample are similar to findings among white twin samples.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.