Association Between Stress and Coping with DNA Methylation of Blood Pressure-Related Genes Among African American Women

Brown, Kristen; Hui, Qin; Huang, Yunfeng; Taylor, Jacquelyn Y.; Prescott, Laura; Barcelona, Veronica; Crusto, Cindy A.; Sun, Yan V.

doi:10.1177/2470547019879088

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…In a small study of mother-child pairs, Black mothers experiencing high parenting stress had significant modifications at 95 CpG sites, including the PARP-I gene, which plays a role in response to stress ( 137 ). A separate study among the same study sample identified CpG sites at blood pressure-related genes in relation to stress and coping mechanisms; however, the results did not remain significant after accounting for multiple testing ( 23 ). Unfortunately, both studies were limited in their power to detect associations due to small sample sizes, warranting more research in larger samples.…”

Section: Psychosocial Stressors and Dna Methylationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Understanding Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Social Epigenetics

Martin

Ghastine

Lodge

et al. 2022

Annu. Rev. Public Health

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Longstanding racial/ethnic inequalities in morbidity and mortality persist in the United States. Although the determinants of health inequalities are complex, social and structural factors produced by inequitable and racialized systems are recognized as contributing sources. Social epigenetics is an emerging area of research that aims to uncover biological pathways through which social experiences affect health outcomes. A growing body of literature links adverse social exposures to epigenetic mechanisms, namely DNA methylation, offering a plausible pathway through which health inequalities may arise. This review provides an overview of social epigenetics and highlights existing literature linking social exposures—i.e., psychosocial stressors, racism, discrimination, socioeconomic position, and neighborhood social environment—to DNA methylation in humans. We conclude with a discussion of social epigenetics as a mechanistic link to health inequalities and provide suggestions for future social epigenetics research on health inequalities.

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Section: Psychosocial Stressors and Dna Methylationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Understanding Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Social Epigenetics

Martin

Ghastine

Lodge

et al. 2022

Annu. Rev. Public Health

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“…A prior study examining stress, coping and methylation of blood pressure-related genes in InterGEN, showed that stress overload and coping strategies were associated with epigenetic changes, though these relationships did not hold after accounting for multiple testing adjustment. 52 Additionally, stress and coping were not found to be significantly associated with blood pressure candidate genes. 52 This present analysis expanded on the previous study by employing an epigenome-wide approach to assess potential associations of stress overload with DNAm.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“… 52 Additionally, stress and coping were not found to be significantly associated with blood pressure candidate genes. 52 This present analysis expanded on the previous study by employing an epigenome-wide approach to assess potential associations of stress overload with DNAm. Other InterGEN analyses have also demonstrated the importance of chronic stressors such as neighborhood stress and experiencing racial discrimination and how exposure to such stressors negatively impact mental and physical health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Stress Overload and DNA Methylation in African American Women in the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure Study

et al. 2022

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Introduction: Experiencing psychosocial stress is associated with poor health outcomes such as hypertension and obesity, which are risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease. African American women experience disproportionate risk for cardiovascular disease including exposure to high levels of psychosocial stress. We hypothesized that psychosocial stress, such as perceived stress overload, may influence epigenetic marks, specifically DNA methylation (DNAm), that contribute to increased risk for cardiovascular disease in African American women. Methods: We conducted an epigenome-wide study evaluating the relationship of psychosocial stress and DNAm among African American mothers from the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure (InterGEN) cohort. Linear mixed effects models were used to explore the epigenome-wide associations with the Stress Overload Scale (SOS), which examines self-reported past-week stress, event load and personal vulnerability. Results: In total, n = 228 participants were included in our analysis. After adjusting for known epigenetic confounders, we did not identify any DNAm sites associated with maternal report of stress measured by SOS after controlling for multiple comparisons. Several of the top differentially methylated CpG sites related to SOS score ( P < 1 × 10−5), mapped to genes of unknown significance for hypertension or heart disease, namely, PXDNL and C22orf42. Conclusions: This study provides foundational knowledge for future studies examining epigenetic associations with stress and other psychosocial measures in African Americans, a key area for growth in epigenetics. Future studies including larger sample sizes and replication data are warranted.

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“…Some research suggests that African-American women may underreport stress due to cultural and societal norms that may facilitate maladaptive coping and difficulty acknowledging stress. 71 More research is needed on assessments of stress in this population and whether or not currently available tools may not perform ideally in this population to capture stress levels accurately.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress interventions and hypertension in Black women

Kalinowski

Kaur

Newsome-Garcia

et al. 2021

Womens Health (Lond Engl)

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Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Black women have high rates of hypertension compared to women of other racial or ethnic groups and are disproportionately affected by psychosocial stressors such as racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and caregiving stress. Evidence suggests that stress is associated with incident hypertension and hypertension risk. Stress management is associated with improvements improved blood pressure outcomes. The purpose of this review is to synthesize evidence on effects of stress management interventions on blood pressure in Black women. A comprehensive search of scientific databases was conducted. Inclusion criteria included studies that were: (1) primary research that tested an intervention; (2) in the English language; (3) included African-American women; (4) incorporated stress in the intervention; (5) included blood pressure as an outcome; and (6) were US based. Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria. Ten (56%) studies tested meditation-based interventions, two (11%) tested coping and affirmation interventions, and six (33%) tested lifestyle modification interventions that included stress management content. Thirteen of the studies were randomized controlled trials. Reductions in blood pressure were observed in all of the meditation-based interventions, although the magnitude and statistical significance varied. Comprehensive lifestyle interventions were also efficacious for reducing blood pressure, although the relative contribution of stress management versus behavior modification could not be evaluated. Coping and affirmation interventions did not affect blood pressure. Most of the reviewed studies included small numbers of Black women and did not stratify results by race and gender, so effects remain unclear. This review highlights the urgent need for studies specifically focusing on Black women. Given the extensive disparities in cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality, whether stress management can lower blood pressure and improve primary and secondary cardiovascular disease prevention among Black women is an important question for future research.

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Association Between Stress and Coping with DNA Methylation of Blood Pressure-Related Genes Among African American Women

Cited by 10 publications

References 74 publications

Understanding Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Social Epigenetics

Understanding Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Social Epigenetics

Stress Overload and DNA Methylation in African American Women in the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure Study

Stress interventions and hypertension in Black women

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