Background Associations between multiple forms of discrimination and blood pressure control in older populations remain unestablished. Methods Participants were 14582 non-institutionalized individuals (59% women) in the Health and Retirement Study aged at least 51 years (76% Non-Hispanic White, 15% Non-Hispanic Black, 9% Hispanic/Latino). Primary exposures included the mean frequency of discrimination in everyday life, intersectional discrimination (defined as marginalization ascribed to more than one reason), and the sum of discrimination over the lifespan. We assessed whether discrimination was associated with change in measured hypertension status (N=14582) and concurrent medication use among reported hypertensives (N=9086) over four years (2008-2014). Results There was no association between the frequency of everyday discrimination and change in measured hypertension. Lifetime discrimination was associated with higher odds of hypertension four years later among men (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.36) but not women (OR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.86, 1.13). Only among men, everyday discrimination due at least two reasons was associated with a 1.44 (95% CI: 1.03, 2.01)-fold odds of hypertension than reporting no everyday discrimination; reporting intersectional discrimination was not associated with developing hypertension among women (OR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.70, 1.20). All three discriminatory measures were inversely related to time-averaged antihypertensive medication use, without apparent gender differences (e.g., OR for everyday discrimination-antihypertensive use associations: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.77, 0.94)). Conclusions Gender differences in marginalization may more acutely elevate hypertensive risk among older men than similarly aged women. Experiences of discrimination appear to decrease the likelihood of antihypertensive medication use among older adults overall.

Introduction: Perceiving discriminatory treatment may contribute to systemic inflammation, a risk factor of cardiovascular pathophysiology. This study evaluated the association of self-reported discrimination with changes in high−sensitivity C-reactive protein and the mediating role of adiposity. Methods: The sample included 5,145 African-Americans, aged 21−92 years, in the Jackson Heart Study. Everyday, lifetime, and burden from perceived discrimination comprised primary predictors in 3 sets of multivariable linear regression models of baseline (2000−2004) discrimination and natural logarithm of high−sensitivity C-reactive protein. Multivariable linear mixed models assessed mean changes in natural logarithm of high−sensitivity C-reactive protein over the study period (2000−2013). Mediation was quantified by percentage changes in estimates adjusted for BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio. Multiple imputation addressed missingness in baseline covariates and in high−sensitivity C-reactive protein taken at all 3 study examinations. Analyses were conducted in 2018. Results: In cross-sectional analyses, male participants in the middle and highest tertiles of lifetime discrimination had natural logarithm of high−sensitivity C-reactive protein levels that were 0.13 (95% CI= À0.24, À0.01) and 0.15 (95% CI= À0.27, À0.02) natural logarithm(mg/dL) lower than those in the lowest tertile. In longitudinal analyses, all participants reporting more frequent everyday discrimination had a 0.07 natural logarithm(mg/dL) greater increase in natural logarithm of high−sensitivity C-reactive protein per examination than those reporting none (95% CI=0.01, 0.12). A similar trend emerged for lifetime discrimination and changes in natural logarithm of high −sensitivity C-reactive protein (adjusted mean increase per visit: 0.04 natural logarithm[mg/dL], 95% CI=0.01, 0.08). Adiposity did not mediate the longitudinal associations. Conclusions: Everyday and lifetime discrimination were associated with significant high−sensitivity C-reactive protein increases over 13 years. The physiologic response to discrimination may lead to systemic inflammation.

Background: Systematic evaluation of neighborhood factors which capture an array of characteristics -analogous to genome-wide-association studies- may identify important patterns in spatial determinants of blood pressure control. Methods: Our sample included Health and Retirement Study participants (N=13180; 58% women, 13% non-Hispanic Black, 4% Hispanic/Latino) with at least one sphygmomanometer reading taken between 2006 and 2016. Our main study outcome was at least one hypertensive blood pressure measurement over the study period. Participants were randomly assigned to either a training or test dataset. Using generalized estimating equations, we summarized multivariable associations between each of 51 standardized American Community Survey sociodemographic, housing, and income-related census tract variables (2005-09) and the period prevalence of measured hypertension. We adjusted for individual factors and accounted for multiple comparisons in the training set using the Simes significance test. Neighborhood-based factors that revealed statistically significant associations (Simes-adjusted p-value<=0.05) with hypertension in the training dataset were rerun in the test dataset to replicate findings. Lastly, in the full cohort, we evaluated main and race/ethnicity-stratified independent effects of each significant neighborhood factor on the likelihood of at least one hypertensive sphygmomanometer reading between 2006 and 2016. We hypothesized that residence in neighborhoods with worse housing or socioeconomic characteristics would be associated with a higher odds of hypertension, and that associations in the full sample would differ by racial/ethnic designation. Results: Thirty-two percent (4218 out of 13180) of participants had at least one hypertensive sphygmomanometer reading between 2006 and 2016. In the training set, two of the 51 census-tract level variables were independently associated with period prevalence of hypertension. In the full sample, we observed a lower likelihood of prevalent hypertension (OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.92, 0.99) among participants residing in a census tract with recent (since 2000) in-migration. A higher proportion of relatively recent (since 2000) renters in the census tract was associated with a lower hypertension prevalence (OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.91, 0.98). When stratified by racial/ethnic designation, these patterns were apparent among Non-Hispanic White and to some extent Hispanic/Latino but not Non-Hispanic Black participants. However, differences were not statistically significant by race or ethnicity. Conclusion: In conclusion, relatively more recent relocation to an area appears to be modestly associated with reduced prevalence of hypertension. These findings support possible differential cardiovascular health impacts of gentrification. Further investigation is needed to confirm these findings.

Untested psychosocial or economic factors mediate associations between perceived discrimination and suboptimal antihypertensive therapy. This study included 2 waves of data from Health and Retirement Study participants with self-reported hypertension (n = 8,557, 75% non-Hispanic White, 15% non-Hispanic Black, and 10% Hispanic/Latino) over 4 years (baselines of 2008 and 2010, United States). Our primary exposures were frequency of experiencing discrimination, in everyday life or across 7 lifetime circumstances. Candidate mediators were self-reported depressive symptoms, subjective social standing, and household wealth. We evaluated with causal mediation methods the interactive and mediating associations between each discrimination measure and reported antihypertensive use at the subsequent wave. In unmediated analyses, everyday (odds ratio (OR) = 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.78, 0.95) and lifetime (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85, 0.98) discrimination were associated with a lower likelihood of antihypertensive use. Discrimination was associated with lower wealth, greater depressive symptoms, and decreased subjective social standing. Estimates for associations due to neither interaction nor mediation resembled unmediated associations for most discrimination-mediator combinations. Lifetime discrimination was indirectly associated with reduced antihypertensive use via depressive symptomatology (OR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.00). In conclusion, the impact of lifetime discrimination on the underuse of antihypertensive therapy appears partially mediated by depressive symptoms.

Despite a well-established literature demonstrating that African Americans shoulder a high burden of mobility limitation, little is known about factors associated with recovery. Although poor cardiovascular health is a risk factor for mobility limitation, its role in recovery is less clear. The present study investigated demographic and cardiovascular factors associated with recovery from incident mobility limitation within one year in the Jackson Heart Study, a cohort study of African Americans in Jackson, MS. Participants underwent three in-person interviews and exams from 2000-2013, and mobility limitations were assessed by self-reported limitations in walking half a mile or climbing stairs during annual phone calls. The outcome of interest, recovery from mobility limitation, was defined as no mobility limitation the following year. Candidate predictor variables were assessed in logistic regression models and included sociodemographic factors, behaviors, cardiovascular health measures, and chronic conditions. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to address missing data. Among 5,276 participants [mean (SD) age = 55.4 (12.9) years], 1,759 (33%) had an incident mobility limitation over 12 years of follow-up, and 953 (54%) reported recovery from mobility limitation by one year later. Young women were more likely to recover from mobility limitation than young men. However, with increasing age, women were less likely to recovery from mobility limitation compared with men (p-value for age and gender interaction = 0.03). In adjusted models, being married was associated with a greater likelihood of recovering (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.55), whereas a history of heart failure and current statin use were associated with a lower likelihood of recovering (OR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.34, 0.98 and 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.98, respectively). In conclusion, the majority of incident mobility limitations in this population of middle-aged African Americans was transient. Being married may support recovery from limitations by providing a form of structural social support. Cardiovascular health status appears to be an important factor in recovery.