Objective-Attenuated nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping is closely linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Self-reported experiences of everyday discrimination have also been associated with negative cardiovascular health outcomes. This study investigated whether an association exists between experiences of everyday discrimination and BP dipping in a biracial sample of Black and White adults.Methods-Seventy-eight hypertensive and normotensive women and men (30 Black and 48 White) reported on their experiences of everyday discrimination (the Everyday Discrimination Scale) and underwent two separate 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) sessions approximately one week apart.Results-Correlation analysis revealed that higher endorsement of everyday discrimination was significantly associated with less diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) dipping (p <0.05). Subsequent hierarchical regression analyses indicated that everyday discrimination explained 8-11% of the variance in SBP and DBP dipping above and beyond other demographic and lifestyle-related factors including race, age, 24-hour BP, body mass index (BMI), and current socioeconomic status (SES). The relationship between discrimination and dipping was significantly stronger on the second night of monitoring. Finally, analyses revealed that everyday discrimination mediated the relationship between race and BP dipping.Conclusions-These findings suggest that experiences of everyday discrimination are associated with less nocturnal SBP and DBP dipping above and beyond the effect of known covariates. The use of multiple ABPM sessions may facilitate the detection of relationships between psychological variables and BP dipping.

The problem-solving model may help identify ineffective problem-solving patterns in persons with poor diabetes control. Empirical studies testing the model are warranted.

Objective To examine the impact of mood states on endothelial function, as measured noninvasively by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Substantial literature indicates that negative mood is linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not well defined. CVD is often preceded by dysfunction of the endothelium. Methods Healthy adults (n = 70; mean age, 36 years) completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS), which contains six subscales (depression/dejection; tension/anxiety; anger/hostility; confusion/bewilderment; fatigue/inertia; vigor/activity) that are used to compute a total mood disturbance score for overall psychological distress. FMD was calculated (maximum percentage change in brachial artery diameter) from ultrasound assessment of arterial diameter at baseline and for 10 minutes after occlusion. Results Regressions showed that increases in POMS total mood disturbance scores were associated with decreases in endothelial function. Mood disturbance explained 10% of the variance in FMD (p < .01), after controlling for age, sex, mean arterial pressure, body mass index, and socially desirable response bias. An exploratory set of separate regressions conducted to decompose the link between FMD and total mood disturbance revealed that the following POMS subscales were inversely correlated with FMD: depression/dejection, tension/anxiety, anger/hostility, fatigue/inertia (p’s < .05), and confusion/bewilderment (p < .01). Conclusions Mood disturbance could contribute to CVD via impaired vasodilation. These preliminary results show that even mild levels of adverse psychological states, particularly depressed, anxious, angry, confused, and fatigued states, might be linked to increased cardiovascular risk.

BackgroundAlthough objective and subjective indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) are linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD), little is known about their relationship to endothelial dysfunction, which often precedes CVD.PurposeThis study examined how objective and subjective SES relate to brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD).MethodsFMD was assessed in 72 healthy adults (mean age 36 years). The MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status assessed perceived social standing in the USA (SSS-USA) and local community (SSS-Community). Objective SES measures included income and the Hollingshead Two-Factor Index of Social Position (education, occupation).ResultsAdjusted regressions revealed that SSS-Community positively correlated with FMD (p < 0.05) and explained 8% of the variance. No other SES measures were significant for FMD. The association between FMD and SSS-Community remained significant (p < 0.01) after adjustment for objective SES and other covariates.ConclusionsLower subjective social status in one’s community may be linked to CVD via impaired vasodilation.

Coping with racism by utilizing prayer may have cardiovascular benefits for African American women.

Objective This systematic and quantitative review evaluates the literature on associations between depressed mood and flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a measure of endothelial function, in adults. Methods Published English-language articles (through December 2010) were identified from literature searches, assessed for data extraction, and evaluated for quality. Results The literature includes cross-sectional (n = 9) and retrospective examinations (n = 3) of how FMD correlates with clinical or subclinical depression in healthy adults and cardiovascular patients (total N across 12 studies = 1491). FMD was assessed using a variety of methodologies. Samples were predominately older white and Asian subjects with higher socioeconomic status. In eight of the 12 articles selected for this review, at least one significant inverse association was noted between depressed mood and FMD, with primarily moderate effect sizes. The overall meta-analysis (random-effects model) revealed a combined effect size of correlation coefficient r = 0.19 (95% confidence interval = 0.08–0.29, p = .001). Significant combined effects were found for subgroups of studies that a) received better quality ratings (r = 0.29), b) examined patients with cardiovascular disease or with cardiovascular disease risk factors/comorbidity (r = 0.29), c) used maximum vasodilation to quantify FMD (r = 0.27), and d) assessed samples that had a mean age of 55 years and older (r = 0.15). Conclusions Diverse studies support the inverse correlation between depressed mood and endothelial function, as measured by FMD. This literature would be strengthened by prospective studies, increased methodological consistency in FMD testing, and broader sampling (e.g., African Americans, younger age, lower socioeconomic status).

BACKGROUND Ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) may partially reflect differences in chronic stress burden that vary by social class and exposure to ethnic discrimination. Stress is associated with increased endothelin-1 (ET-1). This study examined the relationship of ET-1 to socioeconomic status (SES) and to perceived ethnic discrimination among black (n = 51) and white (n = 65) adults (mean age 36.5). METHODS The Perceived Discrimination subscale of the Scale of Ethnic Experience measured exposure to discrimination and the Hollingshead Two-Factor Index of Social Position assessed SES. Plasma ET-1 was sampled upon awakening after an overnight admission. RESULTS SES and ET-1 levels were similar across ethnic groups, but mean discrimination scores were higher among blacks than whites (P < 0.001). Multiple regressions found that the SES × ethnicity interaction was associated with ET-1 (P < 0.05), after adjustment for gender, resting mean arterial pressure (MAP), body mass index (BMI), and exercise frequency. Regressions stratified by ethnicity revealed that lower SES correlated with higher ET-1 in whites (P < 0.001), but not blacks, and accounted for 21% of the variance. Another series of regressions revealed an interaction effect of ethnicity by discrimination on ET-1 (P < 0.05). Increased discrimination correlated with increased ET-1 among blacks (P < 0.05), but not whites, and explained 11% of the variance after adjustment for SES, gender, exercise frequency, and socially desirable response bias. CONCLUSIONS Thus, ET-1 levels increased in association with different psychosocial burdens in blacks and whites. Plasma ET-1 was higher among whites with lower SES and among blacks with higher levels of perceived ethnic discrimination, regardless of SES.

Summary Endothelial function typically precedes clinical manifestations of cardiovascular disease and provides a potential mechanism for the associations observed between cardiovascular disease and sleep quality. This study examined how subjective and objective indicators of sleep quality relate to endothelial function, as measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD). In a clinical research center, 100 non-shift working adults (mean age: 36 years) completed FMD testing and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, along with a polysomnography assessment to obtain the following measures: slow wave sleep, percentage rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, REM sleep latency, total arousal index, total sleep time, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency, and apnea hypopnea index. Bivariate correlations and followup multiple regressions examined how FMD related to subjective (i.e., Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores) and objective (i.e., polysomnography-derived) indicators of sleep quality. After FMD showed bivariate correlations with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores, percentage REM sleep, and REM latency, further examination with separate regression models indicated that these associations remained significant after adjustments for sex, age, race, hypertension, body mass index, apnea hypopnea index, smoking, and income (p's<0.05). Specifically, as FMD decreased, scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index increased (indicating decreased subjective sleep quality) and percentage REM sleep decreased, while REM sleep latency increased (p's<0.05). Poorer subjective sleep quality and adverse changes in REM sleep were associated with diminished vasodilation, which could link sleep disturbances to cardiovascular disease.