Title | African Ancestry, Social Factors, and Hypertension Among Non-Hispanic Blacks in the Health and Retirement Study. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2016 |
Authors | Marden, JR, Walter, S, Kaufman, JS, M. Glymour, M |
Journal | Biodemography Soc Biol |
Volume | 62 |
Issue | 1 |
Pagination | 19-35 |
Date Published | 2016 |
ISSN Number | 1948-5573 |
Keywords | African Americans, Aged, Female, Health Status Disparities, Humans, Hypertension, Life Style, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic factors, United States |
Abstract | The biomedical literature contains much speculation about possible genetic explanations for the large and persistent black-white disparities in hypertension, but profound social inequalities are also hypothesized to contribute to this outcome. Our goal is to evaluate whether socioeconomic status (SES) differences provide a plausible mechanism for associations between African ancestry and hypertension in a U.S. cohort of older non-Hispanic blacks. We included only non-Hispanic black participants (N = 998) from the Health and Retirement Study who provided genetic data. We estimated percent African ancestry based on 84,075 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms using ADMIXTURE V1.23, imposing K = 4 ancestral populations, and categorized into quartiles. Hypertension status was self-reported in the year 2000. We used linear probability models (adjusted for age, sex, and southern birth) to predict prevalent hypertension with African ancestry quartile, before and after accounting for a small set of SES measures. Respondents with the highest quartile of African ancestry had 8 percentage points' (RD = 0.081; 95% CI: -0.001, 0.164) higher prevalence of hypertension compared to the lowest quartile. Adjustment for childhood disadvantage, education, income, and wealth explained over one-third (RD = 0.050; 95% CI: -0.034, 0.135) of the disparity. Explanations for the residual disparity remain unspecified and may include other indicators of SES or diet, lifestyle, and psychosocial mechanisms. |
URL | http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19485565.2015.1108836 |
DOI | 10.1080/19485565.2015.1108836 |
User Guide Notes | |
Alternate Journal | Biodemography Soc Biol |
Citation Key | 8350 |
PubMed ID | 27050031 |